In the current political climate he may consider it an Elitist trophy.
...Thank you for the party, but I could never stay
Many things on my mind
Words in the the way...
Thank you Nobel prize committee
be Mice again...
I want to Thank You!
Happy trails and congrats to America's Poet.
Many things on my mind
Words in the the way...
Thank you Nobel prize committee
be Mice again...
I want to Thank You!
Happy trails and congrats to America's Poet.
1
The Nobel prize honors not only Mr. Dylan's life-saving, poetry-in-music but also the American traditions he uses and recreates. Behind and beside Bob stand Woody, Mavis, Joan, Ramblin' Jack, Anonymous, and so many others. No one knows that better than he. Sure, Mr. Dylan could grab the spotlight and the world's mic for himself, alone, in Stockholm for an hour--and deserves to--but it would be a false show. By refusing the Nobel ceremony he signals that he is part of the musical whole, not apart from it. He has six months to cook up a true response to getting the Nobel Prize and I, for one, will savor it all the more for the wait. NYT, please stop your dreary misunderstanding of our best and and most thoughtful traditionalist.
2
The explanation for his behavior is simple. He's a jerk.
7
perhaps Mr. Dylan could engage his-own-version
of Ms. Littlefeather to attend the ceremony in his stead.
and in this,
assign the monetary award to a cause of his choosing.
In all honesty, I've never heard Bob say anything very interesting. The songs are the interesting part of Dylan.
1
They shudda given it to Donald Trump for his excellent campaign motto: "Make America Great Again"!
He'd willingly accept the award; and the motto, you must admit, is both original and transcendental!
He'd willingly accept the award; and the motto, you must admit, is both original and transcendental!
1
If Dylan was not going to go to the acceptance event, he should not have accepted the award.
And, if he "does not need" the award for further recognition, then why is he behaving like this except to get more recognition. I am sure he will not be missed at this point.
And, if he "does not need" the award for further recognition, then why is he behaving like this except to get more recognition. I am sure he will not be missed at this point.
1
I hope he gives the speech that is required......but he may not.
probably should have gave it to obama..
1
Bob, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside our shoes...
1
I saw a mountain
Topped by a temple
Of gold
When they told me
'Go climb it'
I said, 'no, I ain't gonna go.'
They can keep
The riches they
Say are up there
I can't find a reason
In the world
Why I'd care
I pack it up
Pack it in
And roll right along
Tomorrow I'll
Be somewhere
Just singin my songs
That's for you, Bob
Topped by a temple
Of gold
When they told me
'Go climb it'
I said, 'no, I ain't gonna go.'
They can keep
The riches they
Say are up there
I can't find a reason
In the world
Why I'd care
I pack it up
Pack it in
And roll right along
Tomorrow I'll
Be somewhere
Just singin my songs
That's for you, Bob
Why should a genius show up to collect an award that, from time to time, has been bestowed promiscuously upon the undeserving? Our current president's having accepted the Peace Prize in the very early days of his presidency, without having done much of anything to promote peace, or without yet having had a chance to do much of anything at all (he had barely moved into the White House), devalued the Nobels forever. Dylan is above it all.
2
Always a risk, and this time Dylan did it. The prize is for him and he does not owe an explanation to anybody. He just said he does not care receiving it. Now it's the Academy's turn. Will they revoke or give it in absentia? The price does not have to do with good manners but with lyrics, so let's wait and see. Funny emotional kind of Latino story developing here...
I would be happy to pick it up for Mr. Zimmerman if he will let me keep it. I'll mail him the check.
Give the man a break. He and the band travel and entertain springtime through the very late fall, year after year, that's a lot of work. Maybe he has family plans for the upcoming winter holidays. Crossing the ocean on a plane is a commitment. Besides, it is as he said, not an expectation to receive the prize. Perhaps he is not into the competition aspect, prize winning part of the honor. And, how can one not love that smile, it says love for humanity.
3
" I resign. I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member " - Groucho Marx
1
The committee cynically sought a celebrity and got what it deserved: a cynical celebrity.
5
These comments remind me of when Bob Dylan decided to play electric guitar and was shouted down by those who knew better. His contributions to music turned out just fine.
Or when he was taken to task for not becoming a "leader" of anti-war protesters and joining fringe radical groups in the 60s. I think his contributions to the anti-Vietnam war efforts were substantial.
If he does not want to be honored by a committee of non-musicians, it's nobody's business but his. Shake hands with Norwegian politicians appointed to a committee of taste? I for one will still garner great insights from his work.
Or when he was taken to task for not becoming a "leader" of anti-war protesters and joining fringe radical groups in the 60s. I think his contributions to the anti-Vietnam war efforts were substantial.
If he does not want to be honored by a committee of non-musicians, it's nobody's business but his. Shake hands with Norwegian politicians appointed to a committee of taste? I for one will still garner great insights from his work.
2
Did you ever think that maybe he just doesn't want to go? What's the big deal? I'm with you Bob!
2
But he goes want the cash apparently.
1
Perhaps the writer of
Come you masters of war
You that build the build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
Doesn't want to publicly accept an award funded by the inventor of dynamite and arms manufacturer. Perhaps Mr. Dylan sees the hypocrisy here and is expressing it in his own cryptic style. The Nobel prizes were funded by a "Master of War."
Come you masters of war
You that build the build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
Doesn't want to publicly accept an award funded by the inventor of dynamite and arms manufacturer. Perhaps Mr. Dylan sees the hypocrisy here and is expressing it in his own cryptic style. The Nobel prizes were funded by a "Master of War."
2
Thank g-d. All these stupid awards are meaningless and political . . . I dare say Nobel in literature is the least political of them all but still, when the Egyptian writer won it it was mainly because the thinking was: we MUST give it to someone from the Arab world this year…. etc. The Swedish academy can only blame itself for destroying any significance that Nobel Peace prize ever had and so Dylan is just doing to the literature prize what they themselves did to the ridiculous "Peace" prize.
2
Why is Dylan not accepting the prize?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
2
Just reading the many self-righteous judgmental comments here tells you all you need to know about why Dylan might chose to not show up to the ceremony.
Newport '65 all over again.
Newport '65 all over again.
1
Choosing Dylan for a Nobel in literature, for a bunch of songs with little ballads and ditties, as if of a caliber of true literary giants, puts the whole Nobel prize in a dubious light, especially considering the field of immensely talented contemporary authors throughout the world to choose from. Add to this the politically motivated and premature Nobel Peace Prize to Obama a while back and the Nobel loses even more credibility. Considering, further, that in the sciences major breakthroughs are now most frequently made by groups rather than 'lone wolves', the whole Noble prize thing gets really thin, political, and largely arbitrary.
5
Does he have the right not to go. Sure. Should he go? Certainly. Why? Because these prizes are a collective celebration of human achievement, embodied in an exemplar. Everyone knows that many great and deserving artists have been overlooked and this will always be the case, but giving the prize to someone and celebrating is better than not having the prize at all.
4
If dogs run free, then what must be,
Must be, and that is all.
4
Right on.
2
Take the bucks but flip the bird?
1
With due respect to all - With all that has and is happening in the world, it seems Dylan chooses his course more clairvoyantly and resolutely than most. Cause something is happening here, we just don't know what it is. Do we?
3
Mr. Dylan,
Is it too much to ask of you (and other artists) who enjoy the view from the pedestal of creative genius, public adoration and financial success - to once in a while show grace, humility and kindness to the millions who have built the pedestal on which you stand?
Is it too much to ask of you (and other artists) who enjoy the view from the pedestal of creative genius, public adoration and financial success - to once in a while show grace, humility and kindness to the millions who have built the pedestal on which you stand?
8
It's the Nobel Prize and it comes with an $800,000 check. Isn't showing up the least he could do?
6
You mean just show up because he wants the money?
Patrick, he is already saying yes to taking the money. It's only the showing up part he's declining.
An excerpt of Sartre's refusal to accept the prize:
The personal reasons are these: my refusal is not an impulsive gesture, I have always declined official honors. In 1945, after the war, when I was offered the Legion of Honor, I refused it, although I was sympathetic to the government. Similarly, I have never sought to enter the Collège de France, as several of my friends suggested.
This attitude is based on my conception of the writer’s enterprise. A writer who adopts political, social, or literary positions must act only with the means that are his own—that is, the written word. All the honors he may receive expose his readers to a pressure I do not consider desirable. If I sign myself Jean-Paul Sartre it is not the same thing as if I sign myself Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prizewinner.
The writer who accepts an honor of this kind involves as well as himself the association or institution which has honored him. My sympathies for the Venezuelan revolutionists commit only myself, while if Jean-Paul Sartre the Nobel laureate champions the Venezuelan resistance, he also commits the entire Nobel Prize as an institution.
The writer must therefore refuse to let himself be transformed into an institution, even if this occurs under the most honorable circumstances, as in the present case.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1964/12/17/sartre-on-the-nobel-prize/
The personal reasons are these: my refusal is not an impulsive gesture, I have always declined official honors. In 1945, after the war, when I was offered the Legion of Honor, I refused it, although I was sympathetic to the government. Similarly, I have never sought to enter the Collège de France, as several of my friends suggested.
This attitude is based on my conception of the writer’s enterprise. A writer who adopts political, social, or literary positions must act only with the means that are his own—that is, the written word. All the honors he may receive expose his readers to a pressure I do not consider desirable. If I sign myself Jean-Paul Sartre it is not the same thing as if I sign myself Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prizewinner.
The writer who accepts an honor of this kind involves as well as himself the association or institution which has honored him. My sympathies for the Venezuelan revolutionists commit only myself, while if Jean-Paul Sartre the Nobel laureate champions the Venezuelan resistance, he also commits the entire Nobel Prize as an institution.
The writer must therefore refuse to let himself be transformed into an institution, even if this occurs under the most honorable circumstances, as in the present case.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1964/12/17/sartre-on-the-nobel-prize/
6
It makes one speculate as whether all those commentators here-in who applauded Bob Dylan's independence in not attending the Nobel award ceremony would they too refuse to attend if so honored.
"And this above all to thine own self be true"- quote from "Hamlet"
"And this above all to thine own self be true"- quote from "Hamlet"
Of course they would go. Most people aren't jerks. But if you're a genius, people will cut you some jerk-slack.
1
Maybe the Nobel Prize Committee should make its awards only on the merits -as I have previously believed - without thought for who shows up. Surely they can have a cocktail party and send out invites; I'd be happy to come.
1
In David Dalton's book about Bob he quotes a music business guy who said
"He (Bob) has never been known as a nice guy". While 'niceness' has never been a criteria for a great artist, a little graciousness would not have gone amiss.
For a person who has not been shy about collecting awards for the last 30 plus years, he has been remarkably perverse about this particular honor - the big Kahuna of Honors. He could have at least accepted the phone call early on and spared us this kefluffle.
Idiot wind indeed.
"He (Bob) has never been known as a nice guy". While 'niceness' has never been a criteria for a great artist, a little graciousness would not have gone amiss.
For a person who has not been shy about collecting awards for the last 30 plus years, he has been remarkably perverse about this particular honor - the big Kahuna of Honors. He could have at least accepted the phone call early on and spared us this kefluffle.
Idiot wind indeed.
5
At the very least it's rude not to go. The Swedish Academy went out of its comfort zone and was very sincere in its thinking. Mr. Dylan's acknowledgement and participation in the ceremony would go a long way toward encouraging the Academy to continue its open process of selecting others who are making important contributions in the world of arts, poetry, music, theatre and dance.
1
He definitely deserves the Nobel Prize for tetrameter.
1
The emperor is naked. Yet another move to to convince us he's not naked but we're just too stupid to see his brilliance... He joins another naked emperor to reject the prize - John Paul Sarte
2
It would be one thing if he acknowledged the recognition of the Nobel committee in the first place, but now stating that he's just to busy to receive the prize seems to be more arrogant than anything else.
4
It's not like he asked them for the award, or lobbied intensely for it. And it's not like they told him ahead of time they were giving it to him...they just announced it right out of the blue. What do you expect? He's in his 70s and he's got commitments. It's unfair to expect him to alter his schedule to appear at a pointless ceremony for an award he didn't ask for.
3
Telling the Nobel committee he has a "prior commitment" seems like a total dodge; I'm sure the prior commitment would understand a postponement. But he's not above taking their money. Can't wait to see what happens when the time comes for the obligatory lecture.
1
What a pompous jerk, they should rescind the award
3
Dylan probably understands the ridiculousness of awards ceremonies, the Nobel prize particularly.
3
Almost as cool as you doing an IBM commercial, Bob.
2
Maybe Watson could go in his place and accept the award on his behalf. It already knows all his lyrics.
1
Please reconsider Bob. Science is under constant attack, second only to free expression & the art it generates. The Nobel Prize reminds those that might be tempted to push harder that art and science matter.
2
Do you think Donald Trump has ever read a single book by an author who has won the prize? He's probably upset that it wasn't awarded to him. The White House has been seized by Luddites.
I am sure Allan Ginsberg would have wanted Bob Dylan to attend the award ceremony, yet having his written speech is as much appreciated. For the shared inheritance of superior gifted public, published authors owe as much to the chain of events for those of honor - coming in generations ahead - It is not just about the style but more to how nurturing arts is the human quest in every form and with a long life attainment and accomplishments is a sharing noble thread to allowing the words to move in heroic measures and everyone understands our universal soul to emulate towards working grace in actions that effect a stronger humanity. The Noble accomplishments list is how we can navigate our best and needed journey in all fields.
1
Bob Dylan could not be more low-class or arrogant. He is an embarrassment to this country. The Nobel Prize is not something to pass off, and those 'pre-existing commitments' are meaningless.
I only wish the Committee would drop him like a hot potato. They don't have to tolerate such arrogance.
I only wish the Committee would drop him like a hot potato. They don't have to tolerate such arrogance.
4
Did he accept the prize money or did he donate it? That's the real jerk test.
i believe that Dylan has carefully cultivated the enigma persona as much as Henny Youngman cultivated the loser. It's an act. But if he took the prize money, he is an authentic jerk
i believe that Dylan has carefully cultivated the enigma persona as much as Henny Youngman cultivated the loser. It's an act. But if he took the prize money, he is an authentic jerk
1
Spot on. The only thing we knew for sure about Bob Dylan, was that his name wasn't Bob Dylan.
I would never presume to guess why Dylan won't be attending the ceremony, but I agree with those who say that he has every right not to. Besides, what gives three or four Swedes the right to tell the rest of the world who the greatest writers are? Hundreds of millions of dollars bequeathed by the man who invented dynamite and who made most of his money dealing in weapons. That's some honor...
4
Hey Bobby,
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright.
Sincerely,
A fan.
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright.
Sincerely,
A fan.
5
I don't know if this has anything to do with it but Bob Dylan's son Jakob has a birthday on Dec 9th.
2
To reference one of the 20th century's greatest poet/songwriters..."to live outside the law you must be honest"... and honestly, what have any of the Noble prize committee members ever done that comes even close to Mr. Dylan's accomplishments.
They should come to him to present their "prize". They should have more respect for a great man who has made a deep and lasting contribution to our culture.
They should come to him to present their "prize". They should have more respect for a great man who has made a deep and lasting contribution to our culture.
3
Sorry, but utterly laughable nonsense. Mr. Zimmerman apparently a good folk singer, but that is all that he is. No comparison to any of the greats of literature.
4
No songwriter/singer ever deserved this prize as much as Bob Dylan. I was fortunate to have heard him several times before he cut his first record. He was (with Sonny Terry) the best harmonica player in the folk arena in the 1960s. While he is better known for lyrics like Blowin' In The Wind and Tambourine Man, some songs that are longer and rarely broadcast, like Desolation Row, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, and Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts resemble e.e. Cummings poems or beautiful mind-travel experiences. Well, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows: Dylan was not exactly counter-cultural, but in his essence, he was so deeply egalitarian that he likely never thought that any individual was better than any other individual, including himself, far more humble than one would expect. Such prizes are outside of his frame of observation. He burst on the scene already a legend among his peers, the original vagabond, wonderfully imaginative. Too many people put entertainers and artists on a pedestal and think they owe us something in exchange for adulation. No one should be insulted by his decision to forego the Prize: he is just Bob Dylan. We are honored that he lived amongst us.
7
Wow, that is really a new one for me: Bob Dylan being called a great harmonica player. Maybe not that many 60's folkies were really using the harmonica much, so I guess Dylan might be recognized somehow within that narrow definition. Among real harmonica players, he does not register at all. By the way, I consider Dylan a great talent, but not in the fields of literature or harmonica playing.
1
He is referring to Sonny Terry who is in fact one of the great folk harp players.
Any accolade is rather like being invited to membership in a club, and it's not for everyone. The famous American physicist Richard Feynman didn't think much of the Nobel Prize either. He just loved what he did, the pleasure in the discovery of new things about nature. In the end, he travel to collect his prize, perhaps only out of a sense of duty.
1
"Pre-existing commitments". So vague. So open to interpretation. So mysterious. So Dylan.
3
Read Jean Paul Sartre's essay on why he rejected the Nobel prize when he was announced as the winner. He defines an important viewpoint on these awards. Once you accept the award you no longer speak for yourself uniquely, but everything you produce from then on speaks for the elite cadre of academics and state powers of the Nobel committee. Dylan should reject the award and not accept it. It's mostly meaningless anyway.
1
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. His statement on life and times is sealed. The action befits the man's choice not to relish in a public spectacle and untie his lyrics from his soul. Leave him be to speak freely. Do or don'ts matter to those who understand. Dylan understands.
It may be time to end the Swedish hegemony in "literature" prizes.
[And also in science and "peace"—from money associated with an explosives dynasty.]
[And also in science and "peace"—from money associated with an explosives dynasty.]
Bob has the same bad manners and lack of gratitude as that new boob president elect. I guess Bob also felt too entitled to respond graciously
at the honor he received.
at the honor he received.
4
Maybe he objects to an award that was created to renovate the reputation of a man who was a ruthless arms dealer and inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel himself. Many feel the award was created merely to keep people from remembering what Nobel was most famous for, and where his wealth came from ... weapons of mass destruction.
1
Why the surprise? The Nobel Committee is the establishment!!!
1
I've been over Dylan since I paid good money to see him a few years ago in what was the second to worst concert I have ever seen. You literally couldn't identify the classics that he was singing, yes, that bad. (Not fair!) He was also playing an out of tune piano that sounded like it was coming from a second grade classroom.
Would've rather seen this award go to a humbler "writer" that actually needed the boost.
The worst show? Ryan Adams years ago opening for Alanis Morissette. He was lying on the stage drugged out the entire show bathed in purple lighting. At the end, he did a fosbury flop and took out his drummer. (Really not fair!)
Would've rather seen this award go to a humbler "writer" that actually needed the boost.
The worst show? Ryan Adams years ago opening for Alanis Morissette. He was lying on the stage drugged out the entire show bathed in purple lighting. At the end, he did a fosbury flop and took out his drummer. (Really not fair!)
1
As Mike Barnicle said this morning,"What a jerk!" It's time for Bob Dylan to grow up.
1
I feel much better now. When I went to a Dylan concert a few years ago, he did not acknowledge the audience in any way--practically hid behind his electric piano at the side of the stage. (I acknowedge that he did emit occasional grunts into the microphone.) At the time, I took it all as kind of a slight. But now I feel like a member of the Nobel committee.
2
"Pre-existing commitment." Not to worry Bob, Trump said, he'd keep that part of Obamacare.
1
Maybe he just wants to be home with his family on Thanksgiving.
7
Dylan's music is very popular, influential, and likely will be replayed long after he and his generation are gone. Dylan's creations are products of his imagination and are very pleasing and interesting to behold. However, like a lot, if not most, artists, musicians, and poets he can express insightful perceptions of life's experiences without being particularly enlightened. He lives life as he wants and that is enough for him.
3
The Nobel Prize in Literature may be the world’s most important literary award . . .
This is probably just Bob's way of saying that maybe it isn't and what makes them think that it should be. Bob's just being true to his message of all these years.
This is probably just Bob's way of saying that maybe it isn't and what makes them think that it should be. Bob's just being true to his message of all these years.
2
Simple. Take back Dylan's selection by the Nobel committee and give it to someone who deserves the honor
4
Leonard Cohen.
1
If he's continuing to work at his art, he has "pre-existing commitments". Who's to say these are not more important that a trip to Stockholm and an awards ceremony. He and I are close to the same age. At some point, whatever your choice of vocation, you realize that there's only so much time left for it. I can only imagine how strongly an artist might feel that way. It's not rude to spend your time working instead of spending it basking in praise for your work. He's expressed appreciation for the honor. P.S. the "world's most important literary award" is as conceptually arrogant a concept as I can imagine.
2
"there's only so much time left for it" - Sheesh, RT plane ride and speech would come to less than 24 hours.
Dylan knows, like most of us, that he didn't deserve the award, and surely feels awkward about it. It's not surprising that he doesn't want to go to the ceremony, but of course the most Dylanesque thing he could have done was to refuse it altogether, and allow someone more worthy (Philip Roth, anyone?) to receive the honor. What were they thinking, really?
4
" Most mighty Caesar let us know some cause..."
"The cause is in my will. I will not come.
Dylan's hubris is all wrapped up in his aloof persona.
"The cause is in my will. I will not come.
Dylan's hubris is all wrapped up in his aloof persona.
3
I for one am interested to see what he will be doing the day the prize is awarded. What could take precedence. Maybe the Russians can hack his email and give us a clue.
he doesn't perform for exclusive audiences, and possibly thinks ceremonies are mostly just ceremonious. his saying he will accept the prize indicates he expects to give a lecture. as with many many of the other recipients, he was awarded the prize FOR BEING RUDE. irony of ironies. me, i can't wait for the lecture.
nobody every taught this guy manners ?
You go your way and I'll go mine!
4
Has Bob Dylan been inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? If yes, did he attend?
I think his family name goes like 'Zimmerman'. Correct me if I'm wrong. Donning himself with the name of a real poet, Dylan Thomas, made me laugh from his beginnings in the early 60's when I too lived on the lower East Side but never catch his act down 'Velvet Underground Way'. Mr. Zimmerman may be 'The Transcendent Bob Dylan' as introduced some years ago by Jack Nicholson at a mega concert, but he displays the worst of manners by impolitely sending 'regrets' instead of his presence to receive the Nobel. Whatever name he wishes to go by, some of us will call him 'a royal pain in the insult' for missing the occasion. Rescind the prize for his shameful behavior.
If he does not attend the ceremony – he should not take the check.
I think the late Leonard Cohen may be some what ashamed of Dylan. Cohen strove for spiritual love and unity for all. That includes high minded big wig people who sit at award tables. I wish Dylan had considered differently.
4
To Quote the Nobel Laureate:
Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, “Jeeze
I can’t find my knees”
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel
Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, “Jeeze
I can’t find my knees”
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel
1
"Impolite and arrogant." One elitist pretending to redefine literature as lyrics telling another one that he is arrogant. Rich.
2
Maybe it's because he knows the Nobel is sort of a joke. Art is subjective- it all depends on who is doing the research for the next winner. And the capriciousness of the committee's awarding it is clearly obvious. There are people well deserved that don't win. There are writer's whose only claim to fame isn't their writing, but the fact they they won the prize instead of someone else. Someone's biography could be simply, "...won the Nobel prize instead of Tolstoy, etc.
That's another thing- all the rules. Someone deserves the prize but can't win it because it's not their countries 'turn'. And of course many die waiting for their home country to come around again.
And speaking of Tolstoy, it's well known that the Nobel doesn't go to writers in countries that Sweden doesn't like. And giving it out for purely political reasons, like Obama getting it simply for NOT being George W. Bush (Although that seems a pretty good reason, now that I think of it).
Maybe he's just not saying anything because he thinks giving prizes for art is stupid, and he's just being polite. He's not dissing the Nobel- just not playing the game.
Maybe now the US will be punished and they'll skip us and roll the wheel of fortune lands on "America". Hope he donates the money to discover how we can pay decent musicians without a corporation giving us a list of artists to listen to that'll make them the most money in internet clicks.
That's another thing- all the rules. Someone deserves the prize but can't win it because it's not their countries 'turn'. And of course many die waiting for their home country to come around again.
And speaking of Tolstoy, it's well known that the Nobel doesn't go to writers in countries that Sweden doesn't like. And giving it out for purely political reasons, like Obama getting it simply for NOT being George W. Bush (Although that seems a pretty good reason, now that I think of it).
Maybe he's just not saying anything because he thinks giving prizes for art is stupid, and he's just being polite. He's not dissing the Nobel- just not playing the game.
Maybe now the US will be punished and they'll skip us and roll the wheel of fortune lands on "America". Hope he donates the money to discover how we can pay decent musicians without a corporation giving us a list of artists to listen to that'll make them the most money in internet clicks.
2
I didn't realize W was a poet.
Oh man, come on. Dylan: you either accept and embrace the Nobel, or you say "Thanks, but I don't want it. Give it to someone else." (And I actually think the second choice most appropriate, if Dylan really wants to support writers.)
Of course you can do whatever you want. But it would be nice if you actually took an actual stand--you know, a position. The way you used to.
Of course you can do whatever you want. But it would be nice if you actually took an actual stand--you know, a position. The way you used to.
7
He IS taking a stand. Listen to his music and let him be. He deserves the Nobel. If he chooses not to show up, will we love him less? I don't think so.
2
Being a self-defining artist is one of Bob's many strengths. He does what he wants and damn the torpedoes, the awards, and what anyone thinks. I really like that he's not even on tour. Bravo, Bob!
3
another reason why the Nobel Prize should have gone to Leonard Cohen. Better poet, less arrogant.
4
He has critiqued the world and the establishment for eternity, since the early 1960's. He by himself changed how we view our world and relationships with his writings/songs.
To award him this prize is to in-authenticate in one way his outsider status by the Committee. To award it is to almost not get Dylan.
I think on balance accepting the prize -donating the cash - but respectfully declining to attend the hoopla and ceremony is fitting, logically consistent, and honorable. It also honors who he is and what he has done and this we all get.
To award him this prize is to in-authenticate in one way his outsider status by the Committee. To award it is to almost not get Dylan.
I think on balance accepting the prize -donating the cash - but respectfully declining to attend the hoopla and ceremony is fitting, logically consistent, and honorable. It also honors who he is and what he has done and this we all get.
5
It's OK, Bob. I won't be there either.
1
Maybe Mr. Dylan would like to consider giving his award to Leonard Cohen posthumously since he's apparently too occupied to receive the honor. Or, maybe he can be given the honor, but since he can't come for the check, the Nobel Committee can donate it to the cause of poets and writers of this generation--in Africa, in Latin America, in Haiti, in Eastern Europe, In India. Just a thought!
4
Graciousness and humility seem to have disappeared these days! Times they are certainly a changin'.
1
This is hilarious in that some folks are bent out of shape because Dylan isn't in a hurry to dress up in a white tie monkey suit and go listen to a bunch of pompous speechifying tied into a King of Sweden and a historical manufacturer of weapons of war...... Ya think Dylan has been a 'King' kind of guy his whole life?
This is a great award for science folks, but otherwise....?
This is a great award for science folks, but otherwise....?
5
The Noble Prize is not just an award it's recognition of contribution to all people on the planet by people who respect that contribution. I do not think that Dylan is making a statement other than he does not care how he's appreciated by very many people and certainly not anybody he does not know personally and having to go pick up the award is cost that he is unwilling to pay. We may like his music but I do not think he cares one way or another about many of us.
Stop defending an arrogant and shameful disregard for the most prestigious award an artist can receive. If you don't believe you are worthy of it, then decline it. Otherwise, take an Ambian, sleep in first class and go to Stockholm. Just say "Thank you" and sit down. Don't bore us with your idiosyncrasies.
Personally, I do not get Bob Dylan's music. I know it was popular at the time and when they play maybe three of his songs on occasion, people, including myself, might say they like it or even love it. But I have never met anyone who, when discussing who'd they'd like to see in concert, say - Bob Dylan. Leaving that aside, even less do I get the appeal of his lyrics. If this is literature, what is not? Bruce Springsteen wrote better, Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), the Beatles wrote better, etc., etc., etc. I know it is opinion, but, that's mine.
Also, why would anything think the opinion of a handful of Scandinavians were more important than that of people they know.
And last, he doesn't want to go. It's his award and he didn't even ask for it. So, leave him alone.
Also, why would anything think the opinion of a handful of Scandinavians were more important than that of people they know.
And last, he doesn't want to go. It's his award and he didn't even ask for it. So, leave him alone.
2
Perhaps the committee could give it Postumously to Leonard Cohen, whose novels. poems and songs are for the ages.
4
What especially delights me about Dylan winning the Nobel Prize is that he won based on a lifetime of songwriting achievement, whereas Obama won the Nobel for peace based on the potential to bring about world peace, which he failed to do. Thank you.
4
You can never be too careful with these bohemian characters with an irregular work history: tell the Academy to stop payment on the check.
Bad Manners.
1
Wow. What a ruckus.
As another famous word slinger once said, "Trust the art, not the artist."
Good advice, Bruce.
As another famous word slinger once said, "Trust the art, not the artist."
Good advice, Bruce.
1
Like many "living legends", Dylan, you obviously believe your own press and bloated arrogance of self-worth. You embarrass yourself and your country.
1
Dylan is greedy and self-centered. The public should return Dylan's snub by not buying tickets to his performances or purchasing his music products. That's a simple solution.
1
given that he didn't even acknowledge receiving the award (two words, "thank you", are all that's needed) for weeks, this isn't that he's a tired old 70-odd year old, this is just another self-absorbed-boomer...
1
I think Dylan knows that if anyone were to win a Nobel Prize in literature for song lyrics, it should be Leonard Cohen, not him. And even if he doesn't feel that way, I applaud his snubbing of the Nobel Committee's award. What was it somebody said about committees? That nothing good has ever come out of them?
Not in Dylan's case, but the prize has over the years deteriorated, it now stands all to often for content only, and not for artistic endeavor, i.e., good writing.
1
This whole incident illustrates perfectly why I hate to learn more about any artist, musician, actor, or writer behind the works that I enjoy. It's just not worth the risk to me. I am the exact opposite of a celebrity hound.
When I learn that an artist (broadly defined) is a jerk or otherwise a repellent personality, it negatively affects my appreciation for the work no matter how hard I try to avoid that result.
Did I really need to know that Raymond Chandler treated women like garbage? No. I just needed to know what we talk about when we talk about love.
Did I really need to know that Arthur Miller dumped his down syndrome infant in a state institution right after birth, never visiting him and allowing Inge to visit him only annually? No. I just needed to reflect on the Willy Lomans of the world and how they got that way.
Did I really need to know, standing at the supermarket checkout, about the porn addiction of David Ducovny? No. I just needed the escape of occasionally sampling X-Files reruns, enjoying the chemistry between the leads.
And now I learn that Bob Dylan grabbed the money but flipped the bird to those who love him?
I'm having a bad day.
When I learn that an artist (broadly defined) is a jerk or otherwise a repellent personality, it negatively affects my appreciation for the work no matter how hard I try to avoid that result.
Did I really need to know that Raymond Chandler treated women like garbage? No. I just needed to know what we talk about when we talk about love.
Did I really need to know that Arthur Miller dumped his down syndrome infant in a state institution right after birth, never visiting him and allowing Inge to visit him only annually? No. I just needed to reflect on the Willy Lomans of the world and how they got that way.
Did I really need to know, standing at the supermarket checkout, about the porn addiction of David Ducovny? No. I just needed the escape of occasionally sampling X-Files reruns, enjoying the chemistry between the leads.
And now I learn that Bob Dylan grabbed the money but flipped the bird to those who love him?
I'm having a bad day.
2
Bob Dylan's "body of work" is trivial compared to the myriad great writers who are eminently worthy of the Nobel for Literature, and who have been passed over consistently. These artists would have no problem crafting an acceptance speech and gladly sharing the prize money with fellow laborers in the vineyard.
1
Rock on, Bob.
3
Look out kid
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
It’s somethin’ you did
God knows when
But you’re doin’ it again
I have a theory - Bob is slated to enter the hospital for tests or treatments of an illness. We all know how secretive he is, and it would be completely in character for him to value his privacy right now more than public opinion. Otherwise, why wouldn't he attend? If he can accept a medal from the Prez, and a Grammy (I think he was in Australia during the Oscar broadcast, but he accepted via satellite), why wouldn't he go to Stockholm? Just my idea.
The Swedish Academy disgraced itself by bestowing the literature award on a pop musician whose lyrics, although often resonant, cannot compete with the best poetry.
Bob Dylan disgraced himself by declining to accept the reward with grace while happily cashing the check.
Bob Dylan disgraced himself by declining to accept the reward with grace while happily cashing the check.
10
Arrogant. The attention of the world made him who he is. He can take the time to acknowledge the honor of those who made him who he is. There are many more talented people who never are able to achieve the level of accomplishment he has because of lack of exposure and fame. He is enormously talented and hard working, but his career involved his audience as well. He didn't do it alone.
4
I saw him in 1965 at a small Massachusetts college when I was a high school student. Most of us had gathered early to get a seat on the floor close to him and I was close to the front. About 30 minutes before his performance, a handler came out and told us all to leave the room while he tested the equipment, etc. causing much anger and grumbling as we relinquished our places. I, a naive worshipper, vocally defended his artistic need to get it right no matter the inconvenience to us. We re-convened, he sang, and we witnessed the magic, many of us somehow transformed. Now 51 years later, I stand up for him again. If this is what it takes for him to be who he is, let it be.
9
Go Bob go! You are not nor will you ever be confused with Mr. Dynamite aka Alfred Nobel.
4
“One time I was in the barn and there were all these gold and platinum awards with bird crap all over them. I brought one in to Bob and said, ‘Hey, look what I found in the barn.’ He said, ‘That’s exactly where they belong. Go put it back.’ ”
-- Scott Stein, a former assistant to Bob Dylan ("The silent partner: Bob Dylan's days as owner of Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre," Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 4, 2014)
-- Scott Stein, a former assistant to Bob Dylan ("The silent partner: Bob Dylan's days as owner of Minneapolis' Orpheum Theatre," Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 4, 2014)
5
Or maybe, you know, some people just aren't bedazzled by pretentious awards and find it embarrassing.
2
Ok. Then turn down the cash, too.
1
Bob, if you're too busy I'll pick it up for you. Don't think twice.
3
Whatever. Doesn't change the body of work honored, nor the meaning of the prize. How about some news?
2
Bob Dylan owes no one anything. And to attend the awards ceremony to please others? Otherwise, he is a terrible person? Give me a break. Living to please others when it is not your desire is ludicrous.
Don't judge, people...
Don't judge, people...
9
As a fan sinçe I was a kid, I'm neither surprised nor outraged at Dylan's decision.
I didn't care whether he won the prize or not. While the Nobel is prestigious
it still is just an award like the Grammy or Emmy. It isn't God calling.
He's not spurning it. He's simply not putting on the penguin suit and giving a speech. It's not who the guy is. Anyone who's followed his more than half century career knows that's not who he is. The committee knew it. If they wanted someone to kowtow the committee rather than bestow the prize on the honoree, it should have selected someone else. Brando and George Scott
eschewed the Academy Award ceremony when they won best actor. Are we all still exacerbated by that?
I didn't care whether he won the prize or not. While the Nobel is prestigious
it still is just an award like the Grammy or Emmy. It isn't God calling.
He's not spurning it. He's simply not putting on the penguin suit and giving a speech. It's not who the guy is. Anyone who's followed his more than half century career knows that's not who he is. The committee knew it. If they wanted someone to kowtow the committee rather than bestow the prize on the honoree, it should have selected someone else. Brando and George Scott
eschewed the Academy Award ceremony when they won best actor. Are we all still exacerbated by that?
4
Bob Dylan didn't seek the Committee's recognition and whether or not to embrace it is his decision alone. He doesn't have to please his fans or anyone else.
8
And he is certainly succeeding in his mission not to please.
He is a gift to American culture and culture in general and of course no one should "tell" him what to do. In my own heart, I think of the gracious recipients like Ellie Wiesel, Martin Luther King, Malala etc... and how they were able to make receiving this enormous honor into an opportunity to craft moving and meaningful messages to humanity that, most admirably, were so much larger than themselves. It's not fair of me, I know, but I still wish he had not made this his Nobel Peace Prize story.
2
Dylan is doing the right thing. As much as I have enjoyed his music, I, and I believe, he know that he does not deserve a Nobel Prize for Literature. In recent years, the Nobel Prizes have become somewhat of a joke anyway.
1
"Having these colossal accolades and titles, they get in the way."
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
1
I love how people are commenting here with great offense or rushing to defend his inexcusable conduct.
No one would seriously argue that if you have the looks of a model, you must also be a decent and honorable person. Musical talent similarly imbues no moral character to those who possess it. Bruce Springsteen is both talented and seems (as best as I can tell) to be a genuinely decent guy. Bob Dylan is at least as talented, but he has always been a pompous ass. The fact Dylan is absurdly arrogant and utterly without class doesn't make him any less talented or more talented of an artist, but it does reflect badly on his personal character.
The Nobel Prize is one of the greatest honors humanity bestows on its own. You get the Nobel, you show up and are gracious about it. If you can't manage that, because you think you are above such things, well then you are just being a self-absorbed jerk. It isn't that hard.
No one would seriously argue that if you have the looks of a model, you must also be a decent and honorable person. Musical talent similarly imbues no moral character to those who possess it. Bruce Springsteen is both talented and seems (as best as I can tell) to be a genuinely decent guy. Bob Dylan is at least as talented, but he has always been a pompous ass. The fact Dylan is absurdly arrogant and utterly without class doesn't make him any less talented or more talented of an artist, but it does reflect badly on his personal character.
The Nobel Prize is one of the greatest honors humanity bestows on its own. You get the Nobel, you show up and are gracious about it. If you can't manage that, because you think you are above such things, well then you are just being a self-absorbed jerk. It isn't that hard.
5
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get,
And we’ll put them on the wall when you come home.
And we’ll put them on the wall when you come home.
1
I can't figure out why the Nobel committee did not withdraw the prize. There are other deserving candidates who would find the time to say Thank You.
2
I believe the Nobel committee should have withdrawn the prize.
Clearly Dylan is contemptible of the prize for whatever his reasons.
This is consistent with being arrogant and devoid of simple grace and good manners. A little humility would be in order. It is interesting how tolerant everyone is of the man indulging him in his lack of manners, insisting that he
should be allowed to do as he pleases. Why does fame entitle you to do as you please?
He is manifestly a boor. They should give the prize to LEONARD COHEN
posthumously .
Clearly Dylan is contemptible of the prize for whatever his reasons.
This is consistent with being arrogant and devoid of simple grace and good manners. A little humility would be in order. It is interesting how tolerant everyone is of the man indulging him in his lack of manners, insisting that he
should be allowed to do as he pleases. Why does fame entitle you to do as you please?
He is manifestly a boor. They should give the prize to LEONARD COHEN
posthumously .
I guess Dylan's change came and he was honored for having an artistic statement that was palpable and noteworthy. He decided simply to move on passed the 'noteworthy' and skip the praise. Accolades and prestige are hard won for many. Choices are free to be made and he made one... I hope younger artists and fans don't, however, follow in these particular footsteps of Mr. Dylan's but accept acceptance and gratitude for a life devoted to art is truly a great one and that is something that Mr. Dylan, I hope, can accept. The change done come...
1
People criticizing Mr. Dylan haven’t heard him over the years. He’s always protected his privacy and defied people’s definitions of him. He didn’t need to be the voice of a generation, or I guess a Nobel laureate. He’ll define himself:
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored
And it’s just silly to say that Dylan’s attitude somehow mirrors Trump’s. Does everything have to reflect a political belief? Does anyone think that the Donald would turn down an opportunity for self-aggrandizement? Let other criticize what they don’t understand – congratulations, Bob.
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored
And it’s just silly to say that Dylan’s attitude somehow mirrors Trump’s. Does everything have to reflect a political belief? Does anyone think that the Donald would turn down an opportunity for self-aggrandizement? Let other criticize what they don’t understand – congratulations, Bob.
5
I, for one, will not hold it against Bob Dylan for not personally picking up the award.
Perhaps he is reacting to the angry words and denunciations that poured forth when the award was announced. He might have gotten the impression that critics considered themselves far above him and that he need not subject himself to more spewing of critical comments. Here in the Times, he was called "not a writer" by a member of the editorial board. Did she suppose those words jumped onto the pages by themselves? She also incorrectly identified Dylan as a "great musician", something he is not (others contributed the melodies and general compositions that made some of his songs hit home).
Literature is a sticky place. It is often an airless world where a tiny coterie of people promote each other and sometimes lavish praise on mediocre works because they meet with group approval. Literature is the source of lifetime jobs in colleges and universities for those who make it inside the club. Literature is a place where, on his death, John Updike's writing was praised in the New Yorker for containing "none of the endless skies of the west", as if setting Updike's domestic dramas anywhere but on the east coast would have filled them with the impossibility exalted literature.
Let Dylan be. He's earned the right to walk free and proud and above petty judgement of "insult and stares". The most important task for an artist is to live free of convention. Isn't that what you once truly wanted too?
Perhaps he is reacting to the angry words and denunciations that poured forth when the award was announced. He might have gotten the impression that critics considered themselves far above him and that he need not subject himself to more spewing of critical comments. Here in the Times, he was called "not a writer" by a member of the editorial board. Did she suppose those words jumped onto the pages by themselves? She also incorrectly identified Dylan as a "great musician", something he is not (others contributed the melodies and general compositions that made some of his songs hit home).
Literature is a sticky place. It is often an airless world where a tiny coterie of people promote each other and sometimes lavish praise on mediocre works because they meet with group approval. Literature is the source of lifetime jobs in colleges and universities for those who make it inside the club. Literature is a place where, on his death, John Updike's writing was praised in the New Yorker for containing "none of the endless skies of the west", as if setting Updike's domestic dramas anywhere but on the east coast would have filled them with the impossibility exalted literature.
Let Dylan be. He's earned the right to walk free and proud and above petty judgement of "insult and stares". The most important task for an artist is to live free of convention. Isn't that what you once truly wanted too?
3
That's the Funniest Headline ...all day! But that's Mr. Dylan's character ...which hasn't changed since I've Been Alive.
Guess that something Nobel Prize Delegation wasn't expecting. ...they're are in for a shock. ...must I say!
Guess that something Nobel Prize Delegation wasn't expecting. ...they're are in for a shock. ...must I say!
2
Dylan is one of the great geniuses of our time. He deserves the award and he can do what he likes about receiving it, as he has always done.
6
Let's all remember that Dylan is accepting the award, just not traveling to receive it. Two people have flat out declined in the past including Jean Paul Sartre - and it you know his philosophy, you can understand why. Likewise, if you are attuned to Dylan's lyrics, making the formal recognition of a Nobel prize less than top priority is hardly surprising. He knows how popular and beloved he is by his fans, and the impact he has had on our culture. As someone once said, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
5
Over 500 comments about this? Dylan follows his own path. If you don't believe that he deserved the prize for literature, I suggest that you read his lyrics and read his book. After that, if you still don't, well too bad. Join the Swedish Academy so you can vote in 2017.
7
There is no reason to snub a group of folks who went out of their way to honor you. For what reason.
We have seen of enough examples of rude self-centered narcissism this year w/o one of America's most gifted artists adding to the score.
I am truly disappointed in Mr Dylan.
We have seen of enough examples of rude self-centered narcissism this year w/o one of America's most gifted artists adding to the score.
I am truly disappointed in Mr Dylan.
11
Once a jerk - always a jerk.
6
I'm sad that Leonard Cohen lived just long enough to see Dylan win what I strongly feel was his award. Dylan was great and all, in his time, but Cohen was a literal poet, and his music's still completely relevant today, unlike Dylan, who's been on a nostalgia tour for a decade since he has nothing left to say. GIve it to Lenny posthumously, at least it'd be earned. All these old American hippies are still bloated full of themselves.
2
Now, in my forties, I enjoy Cohen more than Dylan, but as teenager, Dylan was a god to me. Highway 61 Revisited was arguably the most important influence on my intellectual development in high school. I no longer listen to Dylan and am considerably more moderate in politics than i was a kid, but the mid 60's trinity of Highway 61 Rev, B on B, SHB (esp. "It's all over Now, Baby Blue" is the type of art that can transform a person's mind, not unlike Beckett's great novels.
But I think Cohen's work has more emotional subtly (Shelley vs Keats), but Highway 61 Rev is awe-inspiring.
But I think Cohen's work has more emotional subtly (Shelley vs Keats), but Highway 61 Rev is awe-inspiring.
1
Hey Bob -- Can I go pick it up for you?
6
"You just sorta wasted my precious time, don't think twice, it's alright.'
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
7
I'd also like to point out the cosmic coincidence of Bob Dylan receiving the Nobel at the same time pot is becoming pretty much legal. Along with Steve Jobs, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Jeff Bridges, and countless other super talented individuals, Bob Dylan has clearly shown us that pot does not derail one's career, and most probably turbocharges creativity. In his own "around the corner" way, Bob Dylan was an early advocate of what I might call the "farm to bong" movement. It was no coincidence that at the recent desert concert extravaganza in California(held at the same time of the Nobel announcement), Bob opened his set with "Rainy Day Women # 12 and 35" - "everybody must get stoned".
1
Pot once or twice a weekend doesn't seem to have negative effects. From what I've seen, however, near-daily stoning saps energy, focus, memory, creativity -- all while slowly making you fat.
2
I cannot understand the vitriol and illiberal comments (presumably from self-appointed "liberals" and guardians of public outrage) over Dylan's inability or disinterest in accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature.
For the mean-spirited commentators I ask "why should he go and why is he "ungrateful" or "arrogant" or being "a jerk" for not accepting an award he never asked for? In a free society aren't people (including artists) entitled to make that decision - for themselves - and not to cater to the whims of the masses or elites?
Dylans' music (poetry really for those who have actually read him) speaks volumes and putting a Nobel Prize on his shelf (if he has shelf) neither adds to nor detracts from his legacy. Brandon was no less an actor for declining an Oscar. And, for the commentator who said "they should have given it to Leonard Cohen" - he too, I guarantee you - would not have shown up either!
For the mean-spirited commentators I ask "why should he go and why is he "ungrateful" or "arrogant" or being "a jerk" for not accepting an award he never asked for? In a free society aren't people (including artists) entitled to make that decision - for themselves - and not to cater to the whims of the masses or elites?
Dylans' music (poetry really for those who have actually read him) speaks volumes and putting a Nobel Prize on his shelf (if he has shelf) neither adds to nor detracts from his legacy. Brandon was no less an actor for declining an Oscar. And, for the commentator who said "they should have given it to Leonard Cohen" - he too, I guarantee you - would not have shown up either!
1
How did you find out his telephone number? Teach me!
2
What next? Keith Richards winning the Nobel Prize for chemistry?
3
He not busy being born is busy dying.
2
Just another example of why the honor should have gone to Lenard Cohen!
8
Allen Ginsberg made the comment that Bob Dylan was plugged into the American subconscious. Apparently, it was the European subconscious too.
I firmly believe that in awarding Mr. Dylan the Nobel, the committee and Swedish parliament had in mind Dylan's seminal work, "Everbody Must Get Stoned."
I think they just wanted him to come to their party.
They should have booked a gig for half the money, then laid the Prize and the rest of the cash on him at the end of the show.
I firmly believe that in awarding Mr. Dylan the Nobel, the committee and Swedish parliament had in mind Dylan's seminal work, "Everbody Must Get Stoned."
I think they just wanted him to come to their party.
They should have booked a gig for half the money, then laid the Prize and the rest of the cash on him at the end of the show.
1
This is a snotty article. Maybe he's scheduled for surgery. Maybe one of his grandchildren is having a bar mitzvah, Maybe his family has planned a reunion in Tahiti. He says he's got a prior commitment. Since when is that not good enough?
5
Try telling your sister that you're not showing up at her wedding without providing the details of your excuse.
1
Try telling your sister that you're not coming to her wedding because you're going to Stockholm. And try telling the world (when you're Bob Dylan) where you'll be on a given date when it's not a concert.
I am reminded of Richard Feynmann's memorable acceptance speech when he wom the Nobel for Physics. He was a great man, a genius,
"The Finest Mind Since Einstein", according to his biographers, and he disputed the merit of awards such as the Nobel since there was, and clearly is, no way to "rank" brilliant achievements. Indeed, many geniuses languished in despair and disrepute as their contributions weremade years or decades before they could be accepted by science or the arts. He was surprised to win, but more surprised by the outpouring of love that he received from family, friends and long lost acquaintances who were proud to know him and to support him. He gave a speech about the power of the prize to bring people together and for that, he thanked the committee, the King, and the people of Sweden for generating so much good will. He was humbled by the power of goodness. READ the speech. Dylan is great but is not, and will never, rise to the level of Richard Feynman.
"The Finest Mind Since Einstein", according to his biographers, and he disputed the merit of awards such as the Nobel since there was, and clearly is, no way to "rank" brilliant achievements. Indeed, many geniuses languished in despair and disrepute as their contributions weremade years or decades before they could be accepted by science or the arts. He was surprised to win, but more surprised by the outpouring of love that he received from family, friends and long lost acquaintances who were proud to know him and to support him. He gave a speech about the power of the prize to bring people together and for that, he thanked the committee, the King, and the people of Sweden for generating so much good will. He was humbled by the power of goodness. READ the speech. Dylan is great but is not, and will never, rise to the level of Richard Feynman.
7
Has anyone considered the possibility that Dylan suffers from some sort of minor mental illness, such as anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, and/or xenophobia? It is possible that he just doesn't feel comfortable interacting with people in any other way than performing music in front of them.
Or, yes... it could be simply that Dylan is an arrogant, insufferable, boor.
Or, yes... it could be simply that Dylan is an arrogant, insufferable, boor.
12
Infantile and arrogant.
5
Give the recipient a specific time to respond. After that, withdraw it and pick some else. No more hand wringing and hair pulling.
1
Note to people who think Dylan is rude: listen to his music.
1
Thank you.
He is being a momzer and chazer. There are times when "party manners" are appropriate.
They should revoke his prize.
They should revoke his prize.
1
Dillon's music and poetry is most definitely worthy of a nobel prize. I wonder if Dillon the man is worthy....
Dylan
You know, there is a 30% probability next year they will give the Peace Prize to anti-Trump protestors that's burning cars and looting stores. I am not even joking. The social prizes seems to be given for shock value now. Hillary might win Peace for encouraging women everywhere and someone's tweet might win Literature for condensing the zeitgeist into 160 characters.
2
He's lost in the rain in Juarez.
7
Well, clearly the Nobel Prize means nothing to Mr. Dylan, so maybe the committee should give it to the runner up or someone who would appreciate it more. Teach that arrogant aging hippie a lesson!
3
This guy has to be one of the biggest all time trolls. What a pompous ass. He doesn't deserve the award. It is a shame they could not find a better person for it.
4
New rule: must be present to win. I'll admit, I'm a traditionalist and agree with the many critics who noted that there are many awards for music, which Dylan has won, and few for those who labor at their keyboards to produce long-form literature.
1
Gotta serve somebody.
3
Perhaps Dylan, more than anyone, knows that he is undeserving of the prize as the majority of his writings are stream-of-conscious-quasi-jibberish.
10
I think that Mr. Dylan fried his last good brain cell many years ago. He's incapable of giving much of a speech at this point, and he has the self awareness to realize it.
It was a well meaning error to award him the prize at this point in his life.
It was a well meaning error to award him the prize at this point in his life.
3
He remains obligated to give the speech. The thing he has chosen to skip is the award ceremony itself.
Looking forward to the speech myself.
Looking forward to the speech myself.
2
I guess Mr. Dylan has better things to do than hang out with world-class scientists, physicists, economists, etc.
1
Gee Bob here was a chance for you to Make America Rational Again on a World Stage and you're too busy. I know you can't miss your Metamucil and prunes, but what a shot to avoid.
"It's a hard rain gonna fall..."
Love - Paul
"It's a hard rain gonna fall..."
Love - Paul
2
I can't believe the committee chose Bob Dylan over Leonard Cohen. Leonard's music and poetry touch the soul in a profound manner, whereas Dylan's music is beautifully composed, but angry. Leonard was a kind, gracious, and compassionate soul. It is not surprising that Dylan received his award in such an ungracious manner. Leonard Cohen would have been so touched and gracious if he was awarded this esteemed prize.
8
Dylan winning the Noble was a big stretch, Cohen winning would have been absurd.
What bothers me most is the ludicrous lie of "pre-existing commitments." There's nothing he couldn't be relaxed from to attend the Nobel Awards.
Far better to have given no reason, or to have admitted that he feels intimidated, scared, exposed. But, I'm still hoping he'll change his mind. John Steinbeck went, William Faulkner went, Toni Morrison. If Dylan believes in himself, believes he deserves the award, he should go.
Far better to have given no reason, or to have admitted that he feels intimidated, scared, exposed. But, I'm still hoping he'll change his mind. John Steinbeck went, William Faulkner went, Toni Morrison. If Dylan believes in himself, believes he deserves the award, he should go.
3
Bob Dylan is true to himself not the Nobel Peace Prize people. He has always sung the songs he wanted to sing. Played the electric guitar thru boos. How did that work out? He does not need a Nobel Prize to tell him he is a great storyteller and poet.
4
Maybe Bob Dylan realizes that he doesn't deserve it. Good on him.
1
Dylan has always been part beautiful artist, part keen social observer, and part calculating fraud. Like any artist, some of his work had been good, and some has been lame. He has happily allowed people to ascribe bigger than life qualities to him, and has taken that to the bank. He has said this in his own words. I don't really care what he does with his Nobel, and I wish him well. Keep working the crowd, Bob!
1
He's Dylan. He gets to do this. It's okay.
4
And it ain't personal, he ain't Judas.
C'mon you guys, give Bob a break. No way is he going to wear the required white tie outfit...
2
I feel Dylan has only sought respect from his peers and what can be defined as his peered are the other musicians he has engaged with throughout his life. The Nobel committee does not fit that definition and the typical recipients of those awards are heavily invested in academia which Dylan abandoned after dropping out of college to come to NYC to start his career on his terms.
He is only doing what he has always done .
He is only doing what he has always done .
1
Send Cate Blanchett as Jude (I'm Not There). She can smoke, right ?
2
Grow up!!!!
SFS
SFS
Refusing to go to Stockholm because of pre-existing commitments! Perhaps he has a gig in Las Vegas singing his dreadful renditions from 'Standards from the great American song book.' Personally, if you're going to chose a poet, singer, songwriter, Leonard Cohen might have been a better choice. At least his excuse would have been more plausible.
3
First of, the experts and pundits have been proven to be frauds. Bob has done well doing his own thing. Besides, the Nobel Prize has been a joke for years.....
1
I suppose I should be offended but I can't help feeling the Nobel people deserved this slap in the face for deserting the cause of serious literature in an transparent attempt to appear "cutting edge" and "relevant." Maybe Bob Dylan even feels the same way. He undoubtedly realizes -- just as I do -- that the world of pop music doesn't really need this kind of publicity. He may even realize that encouraging people to read books is a much worthier cause.
1
My first reaction to the awarding of the literature prize to Bob Dylan was excitement that his work has received this recognition; and I'm not walking it back. The roots of literature are most certainly in stories put to music for the people sitting around the fire. The Nobel Prize committee stepped out of its comfort zone to award the prize to Dylan, but now he is making them uncomfortable. His "inability" to attend the ceremony seems insufficiently grateful; but the parameters of what he is able to do have always been there for anyone to see. At least, that's the way I see it.
I recently re-read Nobel Laureate Ernest Hemingway's novel, A Farewell to Arms, for the first time since childhood. As I mused on it, I re-read a passage and realized how much more it had to offer than I could take away in a single read. So having just read this novel, I have picked it up and started over.
Between Dylan and Hemingway, I am musing big time on literature. I am not at all offended by this year's choice. As I start to cook for Thanksgiving, I plan to pull out Paul Simon's Graceland album and contemplate the "roots of the rhythm", followed of course by more Dylan, (as well as the traditional playing of Alice's Restaurant).
The Nobel Committee needs to embrace its decision and find a way to celebrate this Nobel Laureate without requiring that he not be himself. It's not really about the Committee, and Bob Dylan has given a lot.
I recently re-read Nobel Laureate Ernest Hemingway's novel, A Farewell to Arms, for the first time since childhood. As I mused on it, I re-read a passage and realized how much more it had to offer than I could take away in a single read. So having just read this novel, I have picked it up and started over.
Between Dylan and Hemingway, I am musing big time on literature. I am not at all offended by this year's choice. As I start to cook for Thanksgiving, I plan to pull out Paul Simon's Graceland album and contemplate the "roots of the rhythm", followed of course by more Dylan, (as well as the traditional playing of Alice's Restaurant).
The Nobel Committee needs to embrace its decision and find a way to celebrate this Nobel Laureate without requiring that he not be himself. It's not really about the Committee, and Bob Dylan has given a lot.
6
It just all seems like so much posing.
3
Ezra Pound and T S Eliot are fighting in the Captain's tower.
He's a poet, he knows it - and didn't you know he was going to blow it.
He's a poet, he knows it - and didn't you know he was going to blow it.
3
I think many people are being subjective & feel snubbed (hurt, betrayed, interpreting "rudeness"), rather than objective & are failing to see this drama from Bob Dylan's perspective.
I've always been a fan of his poetry & I'm glad the Nobel Committee has acknowledged it.
Does it matter that he attend ? Will the world come to an end ?
Can anyone stop being selfish & imagine what it might be like to be in Bob Dylan's shoes ?
People in the past, have sent their regrets citing illness, agoraphobia, anxiety & social phobia.
Perhaps his decision is in part, related to one of these.
Perhaps not.
Perhaps he just doesn't want to go.
And, none of us know what conversations have transpired between him & the Nobel Committee.
Despite media, twitterdom & facebook, there are some things that can remain private.
I've always been a fan of his poetry & I'm glad the Nobel Committee has acknowledged it.
Does it matter that he attend ? Will the world come to an end ?
Can anyone stop being selfish & imagine what it might be like to be in Bob Dylan's shoes ?
People in the past, have sent their regrets citing illness, agoraphobia, anxiety & social phobia.
Perhaps his decision is in part, related to one of these.
Perhaps not.
Perhaps he just doesn't want to go.
And, none of us know what conversations have transpired between him & the Nobel Committee.
Despite media, twitterdom & facebook, there are some things that can remain private.
1
The man was found wandering lost in Long Branch NJ several years ago, maybe he wouldn't feel safe in a foreign land? And I for one don't really want to lose him!
4
To be sure, Dylan appears pompous and rude, but so does the self-important Nobel Academy. Who knows anybody's real motives? Why should recognition from a bunch of academics count more than the adoration of millions of fans?
Hi Bob,
I would be honored to pick up the award for you if you would like, and I will hand deliver it to you. The wind could blow me over to Stockholm quite easily. I've appreciated your music over the years, and continue to do so.....I grew up in the north country of MN! DKJ
I would be honored to pick up the award for you if you would like, and I will hand deliver it to you. The wind could blow me over to Stockholm quite easily. I've appreciated your music over the years, and continue to do so.....I grew up in the north country of MN! DKJ
Trump, Dylan, Kanye West...let's just call 2016 the year of the phony.
Year of the Narcissist.
3
Year of the Narcissist.
Surly the committee did not give him the award because they wanted to meet him in person to get his autograph. If he doesn't go, of what significance is it? They recognized him. The deed is done. Do they need the self-congratulatory celebration to reaffirm their relevance to this world? This is not the hagiographic Oscars. If they do need the ego boost, then it is not Dylan who has pushed them so low.
1
You say ceremonies celebrating excellence are meaningless anyway? Hmm.
Be that logic, why should people trouble to assemble anywhere to celebrate anything? Money can be wired, and thanks can be texted. Completion of the transaction can be confirmed on Facebook.
I'm thinking this approach could save me a bundle on my kid's wedding....
Be that logic, why should people trouble to assemble anywhere to celebrate anything? Money can be wired, and thanks can be texted. Completion of the transaction can be confirmed on Facebook.
I'm thinking this approach could save me a bundle on my kid's wedding....
1
Not showing for the award is minor disrespect to the Academy next to what the Academy did to itself: offer him the award. His work is trivial, compared to, for example, Phillip Roth.
3
I love the work of birth, but I must agree with you.
3
I love the work of both, but I must agree with you.
I think Bob is only saying he knows he doesn't deserve it.
He's very honest. I like that about him.
He's very honest. I like that about him.
He had to contact them and he did. Twice. If he hadn't no reason would excuse him. Takes 5 min. But no one and I mean no one knows what's going on in his personal life. And their not likely to find out. All this judgement.....think back on the many ups and downs in your own life and then multiply that by fame. Then, having no information, tell me what your judgements are.
2
You will find them in these hundreds of comments.
2
Maybe, just possibly, we think that getting the Nobel for literature is a big deal, especially for a musician, and because of that we have expectations. You know, expectations of responding as if you were honoured and maybe humbled by it, which is not conveyed by saying you have a conflict.
Moreover, this is all a piece of his well recorded arrogance.
Moreover, this is all a piece of his well recorded arrogance.
Please let Bob be Bob. If he doesn't want to go so be it. It shouldn't cost a kings ransom to have it sent 2nd Day Air. Good to know Dylan is still Dylan!
4
Yeah, and they can take the shipping charge out of the $850,000 award check. An inspiring celebration for all!
2
There are polite ways to turn down an award. Genius is not an excuse for a lack of civility, for a lack of basic respect, for a lack of manners.
In England, they ask a person if they would be willing to accept a knighthood from the Queen BEFORE they offer it. They only offer the honor to someone who has already indicated a willingness to receive it. This saves the embarrassment we're all witnessing on behalf of the Nobel Committee. Perhaps the Nobel Committee should take on this practice.
In England, they ask a person if they would be willing to accept a knighthood from the Queen BEFORE they offer it. They only offer the honor to someone who has already indicated a willingness to receive it. This saves the embarrassment we're all witnessing on behalf of the Nobel Committee. Perhaps the Nobel Committee should take on this practice.
1
Great idea! And in the novels of Jane Austen, often a close friend will test in advance the receptivity of the lady to a suitor's proposal of marriage.
1
He wrote a personal letter telling them he wouldn't attend. Are you saying that is not a polite way to tell them? What more do you want?
2
1) Responding to their phone messages within 24 hours of receiving notice of the award
2) Not requiring a brain-teaser in order to simply make direct contact with him.
3) Since he's not attending due to "pre-existing commitments", he should have been able to politely let them know he would not attend within 48 hours of receiving the notice of the award.
That's what I --or anyone with manners---would expect. It's not asking the earth.
2) Not requiring a brain-teaser in order to simply make direct contact with him.
3) Since he's not attending due to "pre-existing commitments", he should have been able to politely let them know he would not attend within 48 hours of receiving the notice of the award.
That's what I --or anyone with manners---would expect. It's not asking the earth.
I've been fascinated by a seeming flurry of breathless questioning of whether Dylan's required Nobel lecture will really happen, and if so what it would be.
This is a 75-year-old who gives over 100 lectures a year already. They happen to be called concerts, and many are more erudite than any postgrad seminar you've ever attended. It's there in plain sight; it is what it is. How hard is this to understand?
This is a 75-year-old who gives over 100 lectures a year already. They happen to be called concerts, and many are more erudite than any postgrad seminar you've ever attended. It's there in plain sight; it is what it is. How hard is this to understand?
26
“Bob is not authentic at all. He’s a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake. Everything about Bob is a deception.“
--Joni Mitchell.
--Joni Mitchell.
4
There was a lot of jealousy in Joni Mitchell.
When you thing of all the tackiness we have been forced to put up with these Trump people, it would have been nice if Mr. Dylan had acted like a polite grownup. Everybody is a Kardashian these days. Trump & Dylan, two peas in a pod.
1
Giving this over the hill singer the Nobel Prize in literature is just about as stupid as giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.
3
In the 21st century, there is no doubt the Nobel people expected to draw massive attention to their brand by naming someone as famous as Mr. Dylan.
He's conflicted about playing along. That's certainly his right and refreshing considering that America just elected nothing more than a brand as president.
He's conflicted about playing along. That's certainly his right and refreshing considering that America just elected nothing more than a brand as president.
4
The Swedish Committee were both daring and naive. Daring in recognizing the quality of his early work and naive in not understanding what a rich self-centered egotist he has become.
Nobel committee you picked a singer/songwriter! next time pick a poet it might work out better - there's a price to be paid to try to stay relevant & hip - sometimes it's just better to stick with your values
Jerry W NYC
Jerry W NYC
3
Possibly Bob Dylan feels a bit uneasy and embarrassed about the prize, that he is not worthy of it...
2
Too busy to go to the NOBEL PRIZE ceremony? Are you kidding me?
I think it's great. His act preserves what remains of Sixties attitudes. What does "Like a Rolling Stone" have to do with the Nobel prize? Nothing. He owes the judges nothing.
Just Dylan trying to pretend he is a rebel. Theatrics to the end from this guy. The cornyness fits him.
Next time, give the prize for Literature to writer.
3
I'm finding it increasingly sad as I watch the horror of our new-age excessively commercialised, narcissistic and self-promoting media continue on it's incessant rampage to drum up yet evermore anti-Dylan sentiment, over their perceived and hugely propagandized idea that he (Dylan) should somehow conform to some hard written rule of media etiquette that requires him to appease the masses to their brand socially acceptable formal Nobel 'acceptance' standard. Oh please... The award and how he accepts it is between, well, The Nobel Committee and, Bob Dylan.
What I will say about Dylan's award on a personal basis is this. Congratulations, and God bless. I've been a listener and a true follower for many, many years, over forty to be exact. He still tours- at 75- but even more importantly for many of us, he keeps his concert venue seating tickets at reasonable rates. He still records. And he continues to do it all, brilliantly. Bravo. To Him.
What I will say about Dylan's award on a personal basis is this. Congratulations, and God bless. I've been a listener and a true follower for many, many years, over forty to be exact. He still tours- at 75- but even more importantly for many of us, he keeps his concert venue seating tickets at reasonable rates. He still records. And he continues to do it all, brilliantly. Bravo. To Him.
6
I believe that what Bob Dylan writes is great literature, and I'm glad he was awarded the Nobel Prize. If he can't attend the awards ceremony, that's fine with me. If he just doesn't want to attend, that's fine, too. I wouldn't want to go, either. I'd rather stay home and listen to music. Stop the lectures and get off his back.
6
Fine; then just decline.
1
I wish Leonard Cohen had been given this award.
12
Bob has made a life by exploding other people’s heads. You my want to listen to Dylan’s song “Day of the Locusts” written when he received an honorary Doctorate from Princeton many years ago.
2
"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind"
The answer is blowin' in the wind"
5
I love Bob Dylan. He is the greatest singer/songwriter of all time. I could listen to him almost endlessly. But he was a foolish choice for the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the fact that he does not care enough to show up demonstrates how foolish it was -- this is not a prize for people who do what he does, so it does not hold the same power or meaning for him as it would for an appropriate recipient. The committee made its own bed.
51
Pretty much every Dylan fan I know is eager to buttonhole me at a party to talk at great length about the man's genius. Can't we send one of them to accept the prize in his absence? Please?
1
This doesn't look like arrogance to me. It looks like embarrassment. Perhaps Mr. Dylan, like our President, is exasperated at being offered an award he doesn't believe he deserves; perhaps he believes it is being offered not on his merits as a writer but on his cultural cachet, which I'm pretty sure is exactly what happened.
Naturally, our President was most gracious despite his frustration, because that's his job. But Mr. Dylan doesn't have to show up for what may simply be another popularity contest, many of which he has already won in his own field. It would be nice of him, though.
Naturally, our President was most gracious despite his frustration, because that's his job. But Mr. Dylan doesn't have to show up for what may simply be another popularity contest, many of which he has already won in his own field. It would be nice of him, though.
2
The Nobel literature committee made two mistakes. 1) Deciding that the activity of pop song writing and performing was literature. 2) Not giving the award to Leonard Cohen who wrote lyrics with far greater depth and quality than Dylan. Plus if they had given the award to Cohen, there obviously would be no attendance controversy. RIP Leonard Cohen.
6
Perhaps he'll skype it in?
1
Oh come off it people! Let's face it: Dylan wrote some great songs, but he has always been a pompous self-centered ass. Having attended some concerts in recent years I can also say that he is thoroughly unprofessional - "phoning in" a crappy performance with cynical contempt for his fans. When you contrast that with the genuine hard times bluesmen who played their hearts out in front of meager audiences you get an idea of the quality of the man's character. But he is a genius, and that's why he is receiving the award.
1
He's about as much of a genius as Kid Rock. Dylan has very little talent with language compared with even the second tier serious writers today and has the musical abilities of a first-year guitarist. He's always been a joke among serious musicians.
1
About nine years ago, our family had a male Swedish au pair who idolized Bob Dylan. One weekend, he borrowed a car to drive almost full day to experience a Dylan concert, paying a small fortune for the privilege.
He returned deflated. He expected and forgave the aged, croaking voice, but he was appalled by the lack of any effort to connect with the audience and the insultingly short length of the performance.
But then again, Bob Dylan never claimed to be anyone's hero. Just ask any of his girlfriends.
He returned deflated. He expected and forgave the aged, croaking voice, but he was appalled by the lack of any effort to connect with the audience and the insultingly short length of the performance.
But then again, Bob Dylan never claimed to be anyone's hero. Just ask any of his girlfriends.
1
Who needs him there, let him wallow in his own self-inflicted arrogance. He'll bow away in the wind like everything before him and everything after him. And the wind was here long before he can up with the gimmick of co-opting for his little jingle.
1
...because he truly knows he doesn't deserve this honor?
5
Declining the award for whatsoever reason would be more honest and honorable.
8
What a jerk.
3
The "academy" should create a separate category for arts, not conflate arts with literature. That would improve their situation. Unfortunately, their selection of Dylan (why, to maintain some sort of cultural "relevance"?) has slighted many of the world's best writers. Stodgy and short sighted are terms that come to mind.
2
Serves them right.Banal lyrics, awful voice. A poor, execrable choice for the literary award all around, done to make an "interesting" choice. Dylan and not Updike! Serves them right.
4
Good. After all, who is, intellectually speaking, the Swedish "academy" to
decree who is, supposedly, the "great" whatever. Borges, one of the greatest in Western literature, was put aside for political reasons, which was and is an un-forbiddingly sin.
decree who is, supposedly, the "great" whatever. Borges, one of the greatest in Western literature, was put aside for political reasons, which was and is an un-forbiddingly sin.
One of the most amazing poets and singers of all time. I have all his albums.
Who cares if he goes there or not?
Who cares if he goes there or not?
4
Yeah, well, as my sainted mother use to say about a dinner guest cancelling at the last moment, "MORE for us! And leftovers, too!"
2
Who needs him there, let him wallow in the hollow shell of his own mystique. He'll blow away in the wind like everything before him and everything after him. And the wind was here long before he came up with his gimmick of co-opting it for his little commercial jingle. The prize should have gone to the wind in the first place, as it's the deserving one for all the good it does for people every single day and without pay.
3
Bob Dylan has always been a man who sings of peace and justice. I don't find it troubling at all for him to quietly, and reluctantly, accept an award from an individual who earned his money from selling arms. Peace to you Bob Dylan.
21
It is highly doubtful that Bob Dylan objects to the Nobel on the grounds that Alfred dabbled in explosives. It would be a bit remote at this point.
If that is an issue, then turn it down and say why. But if you are behaving boorishly and cashing the cheque, then you are just a boor.
It would seem that the Nobel Committee did not closely scrutinize Bob Dylan's work before conferring this prize. The decision to award the prize was the committee's and the decision to allow them to award the prize to him was Dylan's. Bob Dylan's career has largely pointed out that the power of institutions lies in what we, the people, grant them. That Bob Dylan has achieved greatness as a songwriter, recording and performing artist is largely obvious and needs little validation from the Nobel Committee. I suspect Bob Dylan would look ant any group conferring validation and ask, "who are you to judge"? Bob Dylan's career suggests someone who has never sought awards or validation for his work. It would appear that the Nobel committee on literature is now surprised that Dylan doesn't seemto value their prize as greatly as they do. But if they had truly looked at Mr. Dylan's work they could have forseen this potentially embarrassing outcome. Because Mr. Dylan allows the committee to confer their prize doesn't mean he is endorsing it's value or lending the power of his career to validate it.
Way to go Roberto!
1
One of our most enigmatic artists is being enigmatic? Dylan can't help being the way his is and ordinarily we accept that and celebrate it. The Nobel is not because he's willing to come to a party, is it? He didn't campaign for it, did he? He disappeared for years at the height of his early fame, didn't he?
He's out-Bill Murrays Bill Murray, it seems.
Why be surprised? Why criticize? Would Picasso show up for an award? Maybe but maybe not. It sounds like he almost decided to come. He is a genius with only so many years or days left: do we really need him to heel? to start meeting expectations now? To stop being a contrarian? to stop being Dylanesque?
He's out-Bill Murrays Bill Murray, it seems.
Why be surprised? Why criticize? Would Picasso show up for an award? Maybe but maybe not. It sounds like he almost decided to come. He is a genius with only so many years or days left: do we really need him to heel? to start meeting expectations now? To stop being a contrarian? to stop being Dylanesque?
1
The Nobel committee rarely, if ever, selects a musician/songwriter as the winner of the literature category. It is an honor that was not bestowed on others like Hammerstein, Mercer, Simon and men like my father. To be selected elevates the craft, and recognizes that songwriters often do reflect the nature of the times and feelings of people. It is a very hard thing to do, and like novelists and writers of poetry in the past, great work should be celebrated. Mr. Dylan should not turn his back on the award ceremony. Songwriters, past and present, need for him to accept the award in their honor as well. He, after all, is just one of a long line of talented people who have been able to express feelings in turbulent times. His latest album has a song on it written by my father, for which I am grateful. I ask that he stand in front of the Nobel committee and think about the many artists before him that have helped raise his many achievements to the level that he presently enjoys. All artists deserve it.
4
Dylan reached his level by his own work and his work allowed others to reach higher status through their use of his work. Hendrix would be less of an artists without 'All Along The Watchtower." It has been recorded by Neil Young through the Persuasions through The Turtle String Quartet. Dylan needs to only answer for himself not anybody else. Musical lyrics are as much literature as any novel or poetry. Poetry being the same as song just without music.
My ten year old kid got upset with me last week when I played "Like A Rolling Stone." Stop that stupid stuff he said, can't you read - try that famous writer "Bob Dylan!"
If he doesn't care about getting the Nobel Prize he could just refuse it as Sartre did. But to accept the 850.000 € that come with it and behave as he's done is not acceptable.
4
"not acceptable" to whom? Obviously acceptable to the Nobel Committee and to the legion of Dylan fans. Probably Dylan's words have been heard by more than any other winner they have chosen. They wish not to give him his financial reward? Take it back, he won't miss it. One or two US shows makes up for that most likely.
1
I think that he knows he is not in the same league as other winners.
1
His behavior, unfortunately, will probably slam the Nobel door on songwriters for a long, long time.
Perhaps that's Dylan's intention.
Perhaps that's Dylan's intention.
1
Give us a break. When they picked Dylan they knew what they were getting. We all know.
1
The songwriter who would have been a better recipient of the Nobel for Literature died last week at 82. Inspiration/craftsmanship tops persona.
6
You have it exactly backwards. "Inspiration/craftsmanship" is exactly why Bob Dylan won the Nobel and "persona" is why he will not attend. Bob Dylan has been consistently inconsistent his whole career - it's a key part of his greatness.
The people attacking him now have not been paying attention, obviously.
The people attacking him now have not been paying attention, obviously.
1
A defeat for the self appointed arbiters of good taste. Ain't no use to sit and wonder why.
14
Yeah, stick it to the institutions! Follow the mob's intuitions...
What a colossal fraud.
3
They should not give that price now to Dylan. Just invite Trump and reward him with the Nobel Price for International Peace and Integration.
1
Bob Dylan is 75 and i can imagine that a long flight to Sweden
can be very taxing at his age... But to blatantly ignore The Academy and not even bother to respond in' person;' either via mail or telephone for 2 weeks is unbelievably rude and disrespectful.As is often the case money and fame doesn't always equal class.
can be very taxing at his age... But to blatantly ignore The Academy and not even bother to respond in' person;' either via mail or telephone for 2 weeks is unbelievably rude and disrespectful.As is often the case money and fame doesn't always equal class.
3
I recently visited Stockholm. It's a lovely city and I look forward to returning. I am sure Bob Dylan would like it if he has not been there before. May I ask if he is cashing the check from the Committee? If so, it would not be much to show up for a day or so
1
Dylan follows his own star -- that's one of the reasons he's great.
1
And this time his star told him to grab the money while flipping the bird to all those who love him?
As Mike Barnacle just said now, on Morning Joe, "What a jerk!".
Couldn't agree more.
I saw Dylan in the Barclays center soon after it opened, and it was drivel. He simply cannot sing anymore. "Like a Rolling Stone" was unrecognizable. He should not be charging money for this.
He is a jerk, but this, as we all know, has been his brand since before brands were currency.
Couldn't agree more.
I saw Dylan in the Barclays center soon after it opened, and it was drivel. He simply cannot sing anymore. "Like a Rolling Stone" was unrecognizable. He should not be charging money for this.
He is a jerk, but this, as we all know, has been his brand since before brands were currency.
6
Agreed.
1
Bob Dylan at age 75 tours almost non stop in a bus. A pace that would kill a 30 year old man. Yet a flight to Stockholm he can't squeeze in. I love Dylan's music and the enigma that he is but at some point it gets old. What is Dylan's prior commitment shooting a car commercial for the Super Bowl? I am sure Dylan and his management have let the Nobel committee know where they can forward the winners check. At age 75 Dylan only cares about Dylan and what's good for his brand and he is milking this one for all it's worth.
5
Well he could go and then not speak to the audience. He has plenty of experience doing that.
2
If Mr. Dylan has too many prior commitments to allow him to go to Sweden for his Nobel Prize, maybe he can be magnanimous & donate at least part of the award to charity. He certainly does not need the money.
5
Groucho Marx is quoted as having said that..."I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."
His Bobness has always been like that and this may well be why his appeal has endured through the decades.
His Bobness has always been like that and this may well be why his appeal has endured through the decades.
1
Fine. But be consistent and turn down the money.
1
I guess he ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no mo.
1
He's been "Bob Dylan" far too long. Bob's never lived in the "real" world that requires compromise- and in the best case scenario, generosity, sacrifice and empathy.
4
While I agree that Dylan often appears to be detached from the so-called "real world," to say he has "never" evidenced any empathy is both untrue and unfair. For a while at least whilst he was under the influence of his then girlfriend Joan Baez, he wrote songs about and participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the early to 1960s. That qualifies as empathy. But she, folk music and protesting soon got old as they say and electric guitars, the Band and rock 'n' roll beckoned. And boy did he answer that call! And stay on the phone aka road ever since (mas o menos).
Judging by his usual aloofness if not discomfiture during his concert performances, one could reasonably think Dylan doesn't cotton much to his audience, fans, or anyone outside is circle of friends and musicians, or he can't wait to get back on his bus and the hell out of Dodge. If so, that certainly reflects a lack of generosity of spirit on his part. That's fine; I feel increasingly misanthropic myself as I approach 66 years, and especially now that we seem to have entered the exceedingly ungenerous and nasty Trump era. Anyhoo, that seems to have been Dylan 's mindset for at least 40 years or more.
Nevertheless his music has always been Dylan's saving grace. He can be as ornery and cantankerous as he wants as long as he keeps writing, playing and singing. And the good folks in Stockholm can put that in their pipes and smoke it if they don't like it. Ditto for all of Dylan's perfectly mannered critics.
Judging by his usual aloofness if not discomfiture during his concert performances, one could reasonably think Dylan doesn't cotton much to his audience, fans, or anyone outside is circle of friends and musicians, or he can't wait to get back on his bus and the hell out of Dodge. If so, that certainly reflects a lack of generosity of spirit on his part. That's fine; I feel increasingly misanthropic myself as I approach 66 years, and especially now that we seem to have entered the exceedingly ungenerous and nasty Trump era. Anyhoo, that seems to have been Dylan 's mindset for at least 40 years or more.
Nevertheless his music has always been Dylan's saving grace. He can be as ornery and cantankerous as he wants as long as he keeps writing, playing and singing. And the good folks in Stockholm can put that in their pipes and smoke it if they don't like it. Ditto for all of Dylan's perfectly mannered critics.
1
Thanks for your well crafted rebuttal. You make excellent points ... I like some of Dylan's music, but certainly not as much as you do. Me ? I think he's overrated, he won't go away and he's not written anything of and real worth for over 40 years. I think other artists play his music better then he does (Hendrix, The Byrds) and his 80's - 90's output was mostly laughable. Basically he's astrophied as an artist. I can guess whatever you are passionate about doesn't include his recent songbook? Additionally, he's a jerk. This has been confirmed by a few folks I know who have met him, spent considerable time with him and have played music with him. This doesn't mean all your excellent points aren't well taken or his musical contributions are nullified - but I personally I never need to hear another classic Dylan song again because I've moved on to thousands of other great vital artists. Bob Dylan is as easy to get as Pepsi and I don’t focus my listening time on familiar bedtime stories. I am sad this award didn't go to someone more deserving - and at very least somebody who could appreciate it. Again, thanks for your response and have a great day.
Thank you for the kind words Jim. I agree that Dylan's songwriting has fallen off since Blood on the Tracks. Rarely does creativity in most art forms continue all the way through one's old age. This seems especially true in writing and songwriting.
As much as I loved the earlier songwriting of artists like Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Carole King, Van "the Man" Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Tom Petty, and in the earlier albums of bands like Love (Arthur Lee), Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia), The Who (Pete Townshend), Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty), the writing and musical genius they all displayed in the initial stages of their careers definitely slowly dissipated as they aged, some, like Moby Grape, very quickly. (The Beatles, Stones and Neil Young are friggen' anomalies who seemed to improve as they aged--but even the genius of Lennon & McCartney and Jagger & Richards could not hold off forever the ravaging effects of old age on the mind and body, much less death.) In short, it is not just Dylan but all artists whose skills have atrophied (I think you meant) by the time they reach their "golden years."
Rare is a Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen who can infuse an album with musical and/or literary genius in the final couple of years of his life. But Dylan may surprise you and me both before he kicks the bucket. If he does, I just hope I'm around to hear it, no matter how lousy his singing is or how much of a jerk he may still be.
As much as I loved the earlier songwriting of artists like Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Carole King, Van "the Man" Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Tom Petty, and in the earlier albums of bands like Love (Arthur Lee), Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia), The Who (Pete Townshend), Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty), the writing and musical genius they all displayed in the initial stages of their careers definitely slowly dissipated as they aged, some, like Moby Grape, very quickly. (The Beatles, Stones and Neil Young are friggen' anomalies who seemed to improve as they aged--but even the genius of Lennon & McCartney and Jagger & Richards could not hold off forever the ravaging effects of old age on the mind and body, much less death.) In short, it is not just Dylan but all artists whose skills have atrophied (I think you meant) by the time they reach their "golden years."
Rare is a Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen who can infuse an album with musical and/or literary genius in the final couple of years of his life. But Dylan may surprise you and me both before he kicks the bucket. If he does, I just hope I'm around to hear it, no matter how lousy his singing is or how much of a jerk he may still be.
1
Within 20 years of his death, no one save academics or people of special interest will listen to or read Bob Dylan's work. Don't believe me? When was the last time you listened to a Woodie Guthrie song?
Yet people still read Faulkner and many of the other recipients too; the Committee has made another "Obama award" (undeserved).
Yet people still read Faulkner and many of the other recipients too; the Committee has made another "Obama award" (undeserved).
4
Perhaps he feels even more guilty since the death of Leonard Cohen, much more of a poet than Dylan, who is more of a (very talented) troubadour.
4
To be an iconoclast is Dylan's role in this life and he does it well. Of course he would screw around with the Academy! He'd never miss a chance like that to be "different." As for actually attending, it is very difficult to picture Bob Dylan wearing white tie and tails - LOL. Personally, I'm glad he got the award and am entertained by his shenanigans. I expected no less.
1
I hope that the Academy means it, that there's no hard feelings. After the J.P Sartre fiasco, no French writer received the award for more than a generation.
Regarding paragraph four, "Literature as literature..." including plays. Plays are not meant to be read any more than lyrics. This Nobel is an overdue recognition of lyrics as a literary form. It is insulting to call great lyrics poetry. Do we call great sculpture painting?
1
No, we call great sculpture, and painting for that matter, art.
If Dylan's Nobel "is an overdue recognition of lyrics as a literary form," how could it be "insulting to call great lyrics poetry"? Song lyrics are often poetry set to music. Leonard Cohen's songs are another great example of great poetry set to music. Characterizing a song's lyrics as poetry or song writers such as Dylan or Cohen as poets does not insult in any way the art of poetry. It's preposterous to suggest otherwise.
If Dylan's Nobel "is an overdue recognition of lyrics as a literary form," how could it be "insulting to call great lyrics poetry"? Song lyrics are often poetry set to music. Leonard Cohen's songs are another great example of great poetry set to music. Characterizing a song's lyrics as poetry or song writers such as Dylan or Cohen as poets does not insult in any way the art of poetry. It's preposterous to suggest otherwise.
As I read this, he's taking the check, but refusing to attend the ceremony. Sartre, who was poor (unlike Dylan) did not take the check. Dylan is a jerk, a talented jerk, but a jerk nonetheless.
6
The Dylan sycophants are almost (but not quite) as annoying as the Trump sycophants.
4
To all using this language: arrogant, rude, no manners, snub, coy, etc. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. He didn't say his reasons, and you don't know them. They chose him, not vice versa. I congratulate him wholeheartedly, I feel he deserves the accolade, and I feel awful that he is receiving such horrid insults. They gave to give, not to get in return - one would hope.
2
Well said JS!
The words and music of Bob Dylan have inspired freedom loving people all around the planet. How many people have accomplished that? Along with his historic lyrics, he added always changing music, his superb harmonica, piano, guitar, and other worldly vocals. No other literary recipient has delivered such a wide range of artistic creativity along with their words. Bob Dylan has no peer.
The words and music of Bob Dylan have inspired freedom loving people all around the planet. How many people have accomplished that? Along with his historic lyrics, he added always changing music, his superb harmonica, piano, guitar, and other worldly vocals. No other literary recipient has delivered such a wide range of artistic creativity along with their words. Bob Dylan has no peer.
2
Chill out folks, Bob is Bob and good for him, the only trappings of success he needs he already has, his talent.
1
He should send them an album and ask them to take it out of his prize money.
1
Just turn it down. This is half way measure, satisfying no one.
48
He didn't turn it down, he is just not going. I assume they could still give it to him. As to satisfying only to himself and that is all he needs at this point.
Methinks Bob can count $$$ despite his alleged non-conformity. His persona as an unpredictable friend to humankind undercuts his art.
wp, it does not undercut his art.
I'm a great Dylan fan, but the truth is Leonard Cohen was the better poet.
1
Hope they aren't too busy to send him his check. Maybe next year they'll choose someone who is grateful enough to pick up the award. So many struggling yet talented writers and it had to go to a rich, ungrateful man.
2
Good job Bob! Now that you are close to knocking on heavens door, this is no time become a conformist.
So show that you're not – – don't let that filthy money touch your hand.
1
Don't expect any more rock-and-roll era "music poets" to be Nobel winners any time soon!
1
Maybe his "loyal fans" need to grow up, get their heads out of the 60s, and focus on what is going on in the world. Dylan is indeed an artist and it's an honor, but he's allowed to do whatever he wants with it. It has nothing to do with YOU. Fans don't own the artist.
The Boomers' endless self-absorption is ruining the world. And I AM one. Leave him alone and look outside.
The Boomers' endless self-absorption is ruining the world. And I AM one. Leave him alone and look outside.
I wonder if those criticizing Bob Dylan here really know his music. Just listen to "Day of the Locusts" from the 1970 New Morning. Inspired by the day he received an honorary doctorate from Princeton, we know:
I put down my robe, picked up my diploma
Took hold of my sweetheart and away we did drive
Straight for the hills, the black hills of Dakota
Sure was glad to get out of there alive
I put down my robe, picked up my diploma
Took hold of my sweetheart and away we did drive
Straight for the hills, the black hills of Dakota
Sure was glad to get out of there alive
What Bob Dylan offers the public is his music and art, which is more then enough for me. He's a private citizen, and under no other obligations.
1
Right. It don't do it halfway – – turn down both the ceremony and the money.
1
Inability to understand what his prize means to other people and how his presence in the ceremonies would be a positive memory and an inspiration in their lives. Isn't there a spectrum for people unable to empathize? Just wondering...
Bob Zimmerman is an old loser who has made off with Dylan Thomas' name and made it as infamous as Zimmerman is. His songs were always much more enjoyable as sung by the Byrds and other singers because he could never sing properly. What he's doing bouncing about on a stage is beyond me. His lyrics don't even compare to those of other poets/singers like Georges Brassens or Léo Ferré of France or Jacques Brel of Belgium or even Fabrizio di André of Italy. None of these far superior writers ever received a Nobel Prize. The Nobel committee should give the prize and the money to the second in line and never mention Bob Zimmerman again.
4
He did have excellent understanding of rhyme patterns, that's for sure. For depth of meaning, however, one needs to look elsewhere, that's even more for sure. If anything, to me it's always been just a lot of cheerful nonsense. Which seems strange now when one looks at the dark and dower figure Dylan cuts in his old age.
The Nobel Prizes are an increasing embarrassment. They are now dominated by fads and politics. It's time to move the announcements to page 2.
He knows, and should say so, that he doesn't deserve it.
1
It was impolite and arrogant for the committee representing the washed up literary establishment to try to attach themselves to the obviously very vital and artistically celebrated Mr. Dylan.
1
First off, I don't understand the award.
Dylan is a self centered, narcisisstic twit!
He needs to grow up and get over himself!
He never possessed more than a mediocre talent at best!
Dylan is a self centered, narcisisstic twit!
He needs to grow up and get over himself!
He never possessed more than a mediocre talent at best!
4
This is the same organization that gave President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize before he had accomplished anything, and the Nobel Peace Prize to Yassir Arafat. Think about it.
3
While talking with my dad (a boomer close in age with Mr. Dylan) on the phone last night, he decreed that no one in history will remember his generation as anything other than profoundly selfish. He said that their parents may have been "the Greatest Generation" but his was clearly "the Worst Generation." Thank you for validating my dad's sentiments, Mr. Dylan.
1
To all you whiners and complainers, it does not get better than this:
If not for you, babe, I couldn't find the door
Couldn't even see the floor
I'd be sad and blue if not for you.
If not for you, baby, I'd lay awake all night
Wait for the morning light
To shine in through
But it will not be new if not for you.
If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
I'd be lost if not for you
And you know it's true.
If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
Oh what would I do if not for you ?
If not for you, winter would have no spring
I couldn't hear the robins sing
I just wouldn't have a clue
Anyway it wouldn't ring true if not for you
If not for you, if not for you.
If not for you, babe, I couldn't find the door
Couldn't even see the floor
I'd be sad and blue if not for you.
If not for you, baby, I'd lay awake all night
Wait for the morning light
To shine in through
But it will not be new if not for you.
If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
I'd be lost if not for you
And you know it's true.
If not for you, my sky would fall, rain would gather too
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all
Oh what would I do if not for you ?
If not for you, winter would have no spring
I couldn't hear the robins sing
I just wouldn't have a clue
Anyway it wouldn't ring true if not for you
If not for you, if not for you.
3
Next year, I would like to see the award go to a deserving writer from an underrepresented culture who is writing about the dignity of his/her people who are below the radar. While there have been spirited and credible defenses of the award going to Bob Dylan, his skipping the ceremony does not honor Dylan or the Committee. He could have refused the Prize in the first place and it could have gone to someone else.
Let's put this year's Nobel behind us or better yet, retract it and give it to a deserving, struggling writer.
Let's put this year's Nobel behind us or better yet, retract it and give it to a deserving, struggling writer.
1
He earned the award according to the selection committee. He apparently is accepting it.
Some recipients have rejected their award.
To focus this on this issue, when there are really LARGE problems in the human world seems to be off kilter.
Some recipients have rejected their award.
To focus this on this issue, when there are really LARGE problems in the human world seems to be off kilter.
1
To read these comments by people chastising Dylan for not attending the Noble ceremony is to understand why Trump got so many votes.
4
I would go if I were so honored..
1
I suspect Dylan's refusal to go to Stockholm has more to do with neurosis than arrogance. Bobby Fischer refused to chess in Reykjavik until Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called to convince him to play. But, Fischer was much younger. Perhaps, someone of influence might call to coax Dylan to do the same. Someone he admires.
1
As a longtime fan of Mr Dylan, I was looking forward to hearing his acceptance speech in Stockholm.
I guess 'its blowin' in the wind' so I will listen carefully!
I guess 'its blowin' in the wind' so I will listen carefully!
Now that he's won a Nobel, possibly as a result of persistent lobbying on his behalf, Dylan nearly has enough stature to sign one of my Beatles LPs.
He maybe shy or tired.
He can just donate the money to the starving artists in literature.
He can just donate the money to the starving artists in literature.
1
Mr. Dylan does not work for the Swedish Academy, does he? People think if they throw enough money and "prestige" at you, you must dance to their tune. I would be surprised and disappointed if the bard of my generation kowtowed to anyone.
2
I loved Bob Dylan's music since the 60s and put him on the Mt Rusnmore of song writers. He should be humble and make an effort to accept the award. Disappointed.
Dylan did not ask to be considered for the award. As the Nobel folks apparently understand, he has no obligation to attend their fancy dinner to be put on display.
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right
3
Despite all the mean-spirited comments here, ticket sales for Bob Dylan will be exactly the same. His fans do not care one whit about him showing up to accept the prize. And he would not care if he rescinded it. He is one of the most private real famous celebrities in the world.
2
The fact that he will accept the money can be mitigated if he donates it all to those more in need than him.
1
People who celebrate Dylan as the voice of his generation should be aware that he rejects your judgment. He isn't the voice of your generation. It has nothing to do with him and everything to do with you. No one has listened to his real views, that he is a musician and a performer. Thats all he is. He wrote nice lyrics as part of his job as a musician. He does not seek positions of public adulation or public favor and does not want them. They would undermine what dignity he has.
So Dylan.
Creepy. Arrogant.
Good for Dylan. After giving a Nobel for "peace" to Obama and giving the literature award to Dylan, the Nobel committee needed a slap in the face.
Someone has to tell them, "You are not gods! You are agents of humanity."
Someone has to tell them, "You are not gods! You are agents of humanity."
1
No surprise, really. He blew off the Pulitzers, too.
I'll wager a fair number of commenters castigating Mr. Dylan for his "manners" are still mad he went electric all those years ago.
What a ridiculous selection.
1
I don't get why people take this kind of thing personally. Great artists make something meaningful that we can appreciate in some way but it doesn't mean they're all around great people and in fact they're often not. Flawed in many ways, sometimes even downright unlikable we have to stop expecting that just because someone is brilliant in some way (artist, actor, writer, athlete, etc) doesn't mean they are good in every way and should be held up as paragons of virtue or examples to our children. I for one love Bob Dylan's work and consider many of his lyrics poems in their own right. I'm not qualified to decide if they warranted the Nobel, but the songs have profoundly affected many of us. I couldn't care less if he goes or doesn't go to the ceremony because the focus should be on the art and not the personality.
Dylan used to be a light in the darkness, now he is just lost in the dark.
1
Nobel Committee: recommend that you withdraw the announced award and re-confer it on someone who feels more honored, responds less rudely, is equally or more deserving, and is not already so widely recognized.
My guess is that Bob Dylan music sales will be going trough the roof there in Stockholm.
Bob Dylan... a working class kid and a singer/song-writer, who came to New York and became an international phenomenon. When asked if he was the 'voice of his generation' as the press often labeled him, his reply was "I think of myself more as a song and dance man."
Well, this incredible artist was far more than that. He gave voice to his generation in the 60's and is still creating new and meaningful work today. Why would anyone expect this accomplished "song and dance man" to be excited by the recognition of a bunch of elitist snobs in Sweden?
Well, this incredible artist was far more than that. He gave voice to his generation in the 60's and is still creating new and meaningful work today. Why would anyone expect this accomplished "song and dance man" to be excited by the recognition of a bunch of elitist snobs in Sweden?
2
Good for Dylan. The arts are inherently selfish, you do what works for you and if other people like it that's merely collateral. There are no rules, no touchdowns, no trophies. As the atheists say, "Relax, there is no God."
Recalls Groucho Marx's famous quip - "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member".
1
As you know, Bob Dillon will forego the ceremony for his Nobel Prize in Literature.
The Swedish Academy, which gives out the award, said Mr. Dillon told it he had “pre-existing commitments” on Dec. 10, the day of the ceremony.
As you may not know, I volunteered to go to Sweden and accept the award on his behalf. Yesterday, I was indeed selected by the Academy and Mr. Zimmerman (aka. Mr. Dillon) to do just that.
Now, I'm looking for GoFundMe sponsorship so that I may attend. Your donation of $10 to $1,000 before month's end will be of benefit to my efforts to accept the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature award on behalf of Bob Dillon.
Upon my return from Oslo, you may inquire of me, "How does it feel? Oh, how does it feel?"
And I will let you know, "The answer my friend is on the tip of my tongue. The answer my is on the tip of my tongue."
Thank you!
The Swedish Academy, which gives out the award, said Mr. Dillon told it he had “pre-existing commitments” on Dec. 10, the day of the ceremony.
As you may not know, I volunteered to go to Sweden and accept the award on his behalf. Yesterday, I was indeed selected by the Academy and Mr. Zimmerman (aka. Mr. Dillon) to do just that.
Now, I'm looking for GoFundMe sponsorship so that I may attend. Your donation of $10 to $1,000 before month's end will be of benefit to my efforts to accept the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature award on behalf of Bob Dillon.
Upon my return from Oslo, you may inquire of me, "How does it feel? Oh, how does it feel?"
And I will let you know, "The answer my friend is on the tip of my tongue. The answer my is on the tip of my tongue."
Thank you!
2
Bob Dylan probably felt that he was not worthy of the Nobel Prize in literature and therefore choose not to show up. And I give him right. There are many more better candidates who should have got it.
Does he still get the cash if his "lecture" ends up being 11 seconds of weird- stream-of-consciousness babble? It seems (since the Yasir Arafat Peace Prize days) the Nobel Committee is doing its best to make these once great honors worthless and irrelevant.
Frankly, I just can't imagine Bob in a tuxedo receiving and award from a king. And, probably, neither can he.
2
Wow, the President of the United States wasn't too busy to attend when he won.
56
No, he was just arrogant enough to think he'd actually earned it.
1
He did not win the prize for literature, rather he won for furthering the cause of peace in our world: hard not to attend for that. The prize for literature is different and puts the focus on the writer in a way that my not be good for the writer but also cannot be turned down.
Bob Dylan is way more important than the President of the United States.
Ha! And to think that some little ole award was enough to make Dylan play the trained monkey and dance to the Nobel committee's hurdy gurdy tune...
23
The merchandise Bob Dylan hawks on his website turned him into that that long ago.
1
Then why did he accept it?
For years now, Bob's been playing mostly reservation casinos, minor league baseball stadiums, and small-town concert halls. This is deliberate. He could sell out the Garden for 3 weeks straight and make what he does in a year of minor league ballparks. From Workingman's Blues #2:
"Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind
Bring me my boots and shoes
You can hang back or fight your best on the front line
Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues."
To Bob, singing some blues in Shreveport or resting up to sing some more is the front line, giving a speech to the Nobel academy is hanging behind. Given what just happened in the election, seems he's chosen his front line more prophetically and purposefully than most. There's something going on here, ye naysayers, you just don't know what it is.
"Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind
Bring me my boots and shoes
You can hang back or fight your best on the front line
Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues."
To Bob, singing some blues in Shreveport or resting up to sing some more is the front line, giving a speech to the Nobel academy is hanging behind. Given what just happened in the election, seems he's chosen his front line more prophetically and purposefully than most. There's something going on here, ye naysayers, you just don't know what it is.
33
Have you seen him lately in concert? It's cringeworthy. Bob, please stop.
1
I appreciate his importance, but I don't think that he could sell out the Garden for many nights in a row. At one time, yes. Not now.
The man may be a good entertainer and songwriter but he otherwise seems to be a jerk.
75
He's not a good entertainer. He's notorious for not even trying to connect with his audience. And he hasn't written anything really good since 'Hurricane', and that was 41 years ago, in 1975. He's also got a cheek calling himself 'homeric'...I think that's for others to decide, in a couple of thousand years or so.
1
I've read the big biography. Sad to say, it appears you're right. Especially jerky to the women in his life.
That said, "bringing it all back home" is the one that opened my ears for the first time back when I was a little kid. The only good music in my parents' stereo cabinet. It must've been a gift.
That said, "bringing it all back home" is the one that opened my ears for the first time back when I was a little kid. The only good music in my parents' stereo cabinet. It must've been a gift.
1
...ditto...
back off. Awards, big or small, mean nothing. He writes and performs songs, people relate to them, go to his concerts, buy his music, end of story. He is not required to do anything, and he is not being disrespectful. What is it that he is supposed to show respect to anyways? A bunch of people deciding over lunch that Bob Dylan should get a prize from them? Why does he need to care about that? Why does anyone need to care about that?
31
What did you expect? These were the same idiots that handed President Obama the Peace Prize months before he had even taken the office. How did that work out?
51
Obama took office in January 2009. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2009 for "efforts to promote a 'global response to global challenges.'" Please get your facts straight before posting.
1
As good as the Nobel Peace Prize did for Kissinger in 73 whose policies for Nixon helped killed 100,000s in Nam in and Cambodia through the late 60s till 73 when Kissinger won it.
1
This prize was from Sweden; the Peace Prize is from Norway.
Oh boy, I sure miss Leonard Cohen. Just sayin......
2
I was hoping to learn why Dylan gave a tepid or ambivalent response, but learned nothing from the story. Perhaps a more interesting story would be, how the heck does the committee get everybody's phone numbers?
1
Looking forward to that lecture.
1
I'm glad he won the prize. It's a good thing.
Thinking about his decision, it's doubtful that ANY other obligations would not bend to allow him to accept this wonderful award; THINK of the barrage of negativity this would engender were such a company or commitment preclude his attendance; this simply does not seem to be what's going on here.
Respect is owed this artist. All the pundits and demagogues harassing and judging him are pathetic and small, at best.
I suspect there's some personal matters, perhaps health related, precluding his attendance, and I respect and appreciate his tending to these, if this is the case, even in light of this giant award.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to see this great guy donate his award to some sort of needing charity.
Bob - thanks for what you do and for what you are, a truly amazing person, doing your own thing, making the struggle for all of us a bit easier.
Rock On, Bro!
Thinking about his decision, it's doubtful that ANY other obligations would not bend to allow him to accept this wonderful award; THINK of the barrage of negativity this would engender were such a company or commitment preclude his attendance; this simply does not seem to be what's going on here.
Respect is owed this artist. All the pundits and demagogues harassing and judging him are pathetic and small, at best.
I suspect there's some personal matters, perhaps health related, precluding his attendance, and I respect and appreciate his tending to these, if this is the case, even in light of this giant award.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to see this great guy donate his award to some sort of needing charity.
Bob - thanks for what you do and for what you are, a truly amazing person, doing your own thing, making the struggle for all of us a bit easier.
Rock On, Bro!
2
Bob Dylan has been a major influence and inspiration in my life. His reaction to receiving the Nobel award is pure Dylan. Let us defend freedom on expression. And appreciate that not everyone has to bow down to the Nobel committee. The overall indignant respond in these comments sound alarmingly like Trumpsplainers.
Bob Dylan can do what ever he wants. But if he is a stand-up guy, he will also refuse the 8.0 million Swedish kronor that go with it.
1
I wouldn't go if I got a Prize awarded to me for what I am instead of what I have done. To be degraded to just a political chess piece is something I can do without. People will still congratulate you on winning but they will all talk about how you got an empty prize behind your back.
1
I would like to think that I would have done the very same thing.
Nothing here worth reporting. Dylan is what he's always been: an ill-mannered boor...
1
What a jerk.
1
We, our generation, feel like Bob is our poet. Our voice who wrote the protest songs and social commentary of the 60s/70s. He then, very famously, walked away from that mantle and now dedicates himself to the "Never Ending tour".
It is all fine. He can do what he wants. But my question for Bob and subsequently his fans is this; When he passes who gets the money? He is held up as the social conscience of the country - expressed through his writings. He must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars at this point - royalties galore - remember Victoria's Secret and other commercials. But you never hear about any cause he stands up for in the world today.
So when does he really make a social statement, a commitment to a cause? Writing protest songs is great, but they seem to just float in the air now. He has commented on many things, but never took a stand on anything (Just ask Pete Seeger - some one who did - oh sorry you can't anymore).
If he had any commitment to world society he would have declined the appearance, but made some statement about donating the prize money to some worthy cause. But I guess it will just go into the coffers to support the Never Ending Tour.
"Money doesn't talk, it swears" -Bob Dylan (or maybe it was Donald Trump)
It is all fine. He can do what he wants. But my question for Bob and subsequently his fans is this; When he passes who gets the money? He is held up as the social conscience of the country - expressed through his writings. He must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars at this point - royalties galore - remember Victoria's Secret and other commercials. But you never hear about any cause he stands up for in the world today.
So when does he really make a social statement, a commitment to a cause? Writing protest songs is great, but they seem to just float in the air now. He has commented on many things, but never took a stand on anything (Just ask Pete Seeger - some one who did - oh sorry you can't anymore).
If he had any commitment to world society he would have declined the appearance, but made some statement about donating the prize money to some worthy cause. But I guess it will just go into the coffers to support the Never Ending Tour.
"Money doesn't talk, it swears" -Bob Dylan (or maybe it was Donald Trump)
If the Swedish Academy really wanted to meet Bob Dylan, they should have figured out another way to do it.
Short of ambushing him somewhere, giving him an award he's not really interested in (as if he's actually interested in any award) is not going to work.
Short of ambushing him somewhere, giving him an award he's not really interested in (as if he's actually interested in any award) is not going to work.
These Nobel people are worse than the people trekking to upstate NY in the 1960s to talk about organic farming with him. He didn't ask for this. There should be no obligation on someone to act a certain way just because you want to give them something. It seems like he politely declined. What more do people want to demand from him. He's not begging you to come to his shows or read his books.
He did not decline the award. He declined to show up to the ceremony but is apparently happy to except the $850,000 check.
1
This committee accusing someone of being arrogant is arrogance multiplied. Haven't they given their Peace Prize to multiple war criminals, most memorably, Henry Kissinger? If Mr. Zimmerman considered the notification of his prize to be equivalent to junk mail, why would he be obligated to respond to it? Of course, one doesn't get the $900,000, I suppose,without acknowledging the prize. But that's tantamount to extortion, no? Acknowledge our self-important prize or lose all that money. Don't forget that all that money came from Mr. Nobel's manufacturing of bombs and guns and other tools of war.
1
There is simply no excuse for bad manners.
3
I bet the old guys/gals at the Nobel Committee are shocked that someone regards their award with disdain. I wonder if there has ever been an awardee who treated it this way. I have a feeling that it will be a very long time before they choose a songwriter poet for the literature prize again.
Sartre, but at least he had the consistency to turn down the money, too.
A lot of misandrous comments elicited by this clickbait article. Must be more misdirected post-election churlishness. The NYT newsroom and a lot of readers should spend some time listening to Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man".
1
Don't be too judgmental, he might have serious issues that he feels the need to keep private.
That could be true. Then simply decline the award. He's rich enough already.
1
As if anybody had the right to tell the award's recipient how to act in this matter – it is not his duty to react in any way and / or to please others. It's hard to fathom that people have to have such opinions about the man and HIS award. Personally, I suspect Dylan is just not the type to please authority and fulfill expectations or kiss up to anyone, even if it's your esteemed friendly neighborhood nobel committee. Maybe the member who chided him should ask himself if he has the right to demand something in return for the award that they decide to give of their own free will. Maybe Bob Dylan just wants to sit at home that night and eat a sandwich, whose concern is it, anyway? It just might be why his work was honored as the enigmatic, timeless and unique gift to us that it is. Stop harassing the man from afar, it's as pointless as it is silly and unjust.
1
Do people understand how many awards that he never asked for that this guy HAS gone and picked up? So why not this one? Could it be that it puts him a whole new category and that the one thing he can't deal with is someone else putting their fingerprints on his very carefully tooled image? Image is and always has been what it's all about for Dylan. There is no more acutely, minutely fashioned brand in entertainment. And the thing that sets it above and beyond all other brands is the extent to which Dylan has succeeded in controlling it on his own terms. Yes, he is an accomplished songwriter who changed the way pop songs are written. And yes, part of that is how he brought a more sophisticated array of poetic devices to the craft. But anyone with an ounce of literary acumen can see the plain difference between a Dylan lyric and the work of, say, the last English language writer of only poetry, Seamus Heaney:
To get out early, haul
Steadily off the bottom,
Dispraise the catch, and smile
As you find a rhythm
Working you, slow mile by mile,
Into your proper haunt
Somewhere, well out, beyond...
So don't waste any more time with "You don't need a weatherman..." etc. This is all about Nobel trying to burnish their brand with a popular sop and Dylan trying to control his with one of his all-too-familiar feints. Or maybe it's just that old "neck injury" from the "motorcycle crash" acting up again...
To get out early, haul
Steadily off the bottom,
Dispraise the catch, and smile
As you find a rhythm
Working you, slow mile by mile,
Into your proper haunt
Somewhere, well out, beyond...
So don't waste any more time with "You don't need a weatherman..." etc. This is all about Nobel trying to burnish their brand with a popular sop and Dylan trying to control his with one of his all-too-familiar feints. Or maybe it's just that old "neck injury" from the "motorcycle crash" acting up again...
"I can't help it if I'm lucky"
Idiot Wind, Bob Dylan
Idiot Wind, Bob Dylan
20
God, this is exactly the kind of attitude that has the rest of America hating on what they see as self absorbed, holier-than-thou elites who are too high minded to even accept one of the world's most coveted awards. Just show up and say 'thank you' for heaven's sake.
Let Bob be himself and strange to others.
1
As some of the disciples were remarking how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be toppled.” Luke 21:5-6
I admire someone who chooses not to cast his pearls before temporal swine for he knows that all things must pass and that the only manner in which one can gain one's life is to lose it.
Bless the poet who understands one's words might entirely not be one's own.
I admire someone who chooses not to cast his pearls before temporal swine for he knows that all things must pass and that the only manner in which one can gain one's life is to lose it.
Bless the poet who understands one's words might entirely not be one's own.
1
what rude thing to do.
2
Dylan's 1970 album New Morning contains the single "Day of the Locusts." The lyrics describe an honorary-degree ceremony (Princeton?) so bad he "sure was glad to get out of there alive" and "head for the hills, the Black Hills of Dakota." Can the halls of Oslo be any different?
come on Bob go give a talk.....the world need to hear from you, a great opportunity. Maybe just go and sing. Everyone will be listening. don't be a snob and act foolishly. Go and do the talk or sing.
1
I think he's a major creep. Never liked him in the first place. Maybe he wrote a few good pieces, but nowhere near Nobel Prize-worthy, imo. And, call me old-fashioned, but I always preferred people who can actually carry a tune.
3
And we wonder how the term 'Ugly American' came about.
Dylan is the personification of an over-privileged, under-grateful American boor.
He does Trump proud.
Dylan is the personification of an over-privileged, under-grateful American boor.
He does Trump proud.
3
yeah bob..if you're too busy to pick up a lousy award so be it. this reminds of the time when I was in high school and our star athlete wasn't on time for a tv interview and how our high school coach insisted that money was an issue here and that if the athlete blew off the interview his livelihood would be at stake. my response at the age of 17 in 1971 was that "money wasn't everything". I like the stand I took then and I continue to like it today. To quote E. Franklin Frazier (google him if you don't know who he is) that when you make a choice that indicates your values.
Dear Mr. Dylan,
No. It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall. I'm a poet, I get not wanting to show up, for all the complicated reasons you have every right to hold. But it's a hard rains a-gonna fall. On this dark edge of abyss you could stand on one of the greatest stages in the world and sing, read, mark the moment in all its unimaginable horror and staggering grief. It's a hard rains a-gonna fall and you are a poet Mr. Dylan, what do you still owe to witness? There is one more road to walk down. I do not imagine you will read this obscure post but there is time to make a different choice.
Thank you, Laurie Macfee
No. It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall. I'm a poet, I get not wanting to show up, for all the complicated reasons you have every right to hold. But it's a hard rains a-gonna fall. On this dark edge of abyss you could stand on one of the greatest stages in the world and sing, read, mark the moment in all its unimaginable horror and staggering grief. It's a hard rains a-gonna fall and you are a poet Mr. Dylan, what do you still owe to witness? There is one more road to walk down. I do not imagine you will read this obscure post but there is time to make a different choice.
Thank you, Laurie Macfee
If Bob can't do what he thinks is right, who can do so? If we are entitled to judge Bob Dylan, who are we not entitled to judge? Oh I forgot: our entitlement is limitless.
It's an award, an honor bestowed with respect. One accepts it or not. But if it is accepted, then its simply not cool to dis the giver.
2
11/23 is the day before Thanksgiving. How insensitive of the committee to schedule the ceremony before America's most important holiday!
Dylan is using "pre-existing commitment" while he can because Obamacare will be repealed under Trump.
If the academy that gives the prize doesn't mind if Dylan doesn't show up, why should anyone else? With everything going on in the country, doesn't anyone have anything to think about but this?
1. Do you honestly believe that the Academy "doesn't mind"?
2. Yes, there is a lot going on in the country at present, but people can condider many different matters at the same time, just as most can walk and chew gum at the same time.
2. Yes, there is a lot going on in the country at present, but people can condider many different matters at the same time, just as most can walk and chew gum at the same time.
1
I've no feelings about Dylan not appearing at the award ceremony, but hope for something from him as a traditional lecture by prizewinners, using whatever format he finds appropriate.
He found his niche. It was a time to write protest songs so that's what he did. Even if it was all calculated his talent showed. Although I think his fans wanted a Woodie Guthrie he would have prefered to be a a Johnny Cash. He speaks the same language. Anyway he still thinks it all bull.
So he's a no show. Now can we get to more important arguement like who's better the Beetle's or the Stone's?
So he's a no show. Now can we get to more important arguement like who's better the Beetle's or the Stone's?
1
Got it Bob; too busy to accept.....big appointment somewhere.....gotta run...
To spit on what is essentially the world's recognition for exceptional accomplishment in your field of endeavor is the ultimate act of rebellion to society....
Got it Bob; you're all over this one....totally on the ball....yer the cat's meow, and all that....
To spit on what is essentially the world's recognition for exceptional accomplishment in your field of endeavor is the ultimate act of rebellion to society....
Got it Bob; you're all over this one....totally on the ball....yer the cat's meow, and all that....
1
"Someone's got it in for me,
they're planting stories in the press. "
B Dylan Idiot Wind
they're planting stories in the press. "
B Dylan Idiot Wind
1
Wait. The singer-songwriter won,t pick up an award so his work is meaningless or overrated?
It,s just a dang trophy. Relax.
It,s just a dang trophy. Relax.
From my own personal experience as a 77 year old retired performer, lack of interest and energy remove any feeling of public obligation, especially to people who (yet again) want to crowd around you as the designated "guest of honor." With old age comes a feeling that one is profoundly alone in the universe, your obligations are joyfully at an end, and you can claim the freedom to choose to celebrate each waning day alone on the sunset trail in a welcome state of solitude.
74
at 79, i respect the judgment of others. Unlike Mr. Dylan. Sounds like take the money and walk!
Bob Dylan is by no means retired. He tours most of every year, on and off the bus constantly.
But that's not what Dylan is doing. He may FEEL profoundly alone, but he is NOT alone. He's on a concert tour--singing his truth, entertaining his fans, and making money. He is still performing. What's wrong with a song, perhaps a new one, at the Nobel awards?
Come on, Bob, lighten up. This is the Nobel Prize, not something that is given lightly. Make Hibbing proud, go to Stockholm, make a short speech. Show some class.
7
I must say that, if he goes, I would be hugely disappointed. He could be self entered, but we love him, because he is always true to himself and always able to see life as it is. No fluffy or glamour. How could he worship a Nobel, like rest of us?
Seems like Bob Dylan is the only one with sense: Why show up for an award he knows he doesn't deserve and should never have been nominated for? Next, we'll have writers of commercial jingles receiving a Nobel Prize for Literature.
1
In a different era, this might have carried a mark of novelty but in the 'post truth' world that we live in, I am just adding his name to the list of coarse people who seem never to disappoint us: Kanye West, Deuterte, Trump, and this man.
3
Maybe Dylan thinks it's a joke he was awarded the prize for literature. He thinks of himself as a song writer and musician and always wished he could play better. Probably what keeps him going to some extent. The prize seems like a cap to something he doesn't want capped. Give the prize to a novelist or poet not a rock 'n roller - don't cramp his style.
1
Dylan didn't win for being polite, he won for his writing. That stands as is.
1
The truth is very disappointing as there is nothing noble behind Nobel Prizes. Alfred Nobel became wealthy developing the Chemistry of explosive like Dynamite helping governments decimate millions of innocent humans. Bob Dylan missing the award ceremony shows simply that he knows where his work stands on human affairs
1
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite as a sorely-needed replacement for nitroglycerin, the most common blasting compound in use in his time. Nitroglycerin is a highly unstable compound which had killed many workers in mining and construction. Nobel's work saved countless lives, and what governments chose to do with his invention in later years cannot rightly be foisted on him. Maybe Dylan doesn't know that, either, but I'm almost certain his behavior has nothing to do with dynamite.
Wow - so quick to condemn! Bob Dylan has dedicated his whole life to creating superb art to help improve the human condition - though he would never admit it. He has sacrificed his privacy and his vocal chords to get his words out. His words are quoted almost as much as the bible.
With the dawn of the Trump era upon us, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. It seems we will still have a black branch with blood that keeps drippin'. Most of the world, right now, is tangled up in blue. Bob Dylan, as always, will be standin' on the ocean until he starts sinkin'.
With the dawn of the Trump era upon us, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. It seems we will still have a black branch with blood that keeps drippin'. Most of the world, right now, is tangled up in blue. Bob Dylan, as always, will be standin' on the ocean until he starts sinkin'.
2
To those who compose comments that Bob Dylan's writing is no longer relevant, a reminder. just like mine, your message is immediately irrelevent. Literature comes in many forms and the Nobel committee made an excellent choice by honoring Dylan's body of work, an amazing burst of creative energy that spans decades. Relevance was never the goal, yet if ever there was one thing every songwriter can agree on is the relevance of Dylan's writing has been something to behold for many generations, and most certainly will continue to be for many generations in the future.
I am surprised that Dylan naysayers haven't tapped into his commercials? What gives?
http://alldylan.com/bob-dylan-9-commercials/
This is the Story of Bob Dylan's Nobel Claim,
The Man the Authorities Came to Blame,
For Somethin' that he never done.
I am surprised that Dylan naysayers haven't tapped into his commercials? What gives?
http://alldylan.com/bob-dylan-9-commercials/
This is the Story of Bob Dylan's Nobel Claim,
The Man the Authorities Came to Blame,
For Somethin' that he never done.
Why not just say thank you and then do a great deed by donating the money to a worthy cause - Simple as that !!!
5
Dylan is always touring these days. Maybe he has gigs lined up that he cannot cancel. I just love him because he's not a constant presence in the media. He lets his work speak for him.
The man didn't seek it, didn't ask for it and probably is a little confused why they gave it to him ....Leave him alone and listen to his music....Desolation Row is a good tune to start up these days.
1
Well, this is not the first time that the Swedish academy errs in picking its literature laureate. In recent years there were Dario Fo or Elfriede Jelinek, now Bob Dylan who made the wrong choice between being a 21st-century Walt Whitman or a Christian-born-again music star. Or maybe this turn of event is all a comment on what "literature" has become, something you order online like a cooking pot or a plane ticket. Anyway, one should understand that a "tour commitment" in Las Vegas or somewhere else is much more important than honoring the highest achievement in literature. Sure, this is also one last stand for Bob Dylan to act out the poet rebel, just in case people thought he was another bourgeois rock'n roll star...after all, "touring" is another poetic way to tell the world: You can't catch me.
1
We have a problem when a professional journalist describes literature as "books or poems or plays." But never mind. At least we can look forward to a lecture by Dylan, perhaps on why his most cynical, stoney hearted song is his most popular one. In the meantime, it will be interesting to try to think up all the overlooked literary artists who would have loved to travel to Stockholm.
1
When I have seen him interviewed, and the last time was many years ago, he seemed very uncomfortable. Could it be that he just doesn't want all the attention? He may just be shy.
1
What a jerk this guy has become. I have always liked his music. But, he lacks simple social graces and a sense of manners. The Nobel award given to him has broken a mold and has allowed singer-songwriters to now be eligible. That is good. If he is not interested in attending for himself, at least he should do it for other songwriters who could win in the future. Otherwise, I'm fearful that the Nobel committee that awards the literature prize will be reluctant to choose another one in the future.
6
Trump says he'll go in his place. He's always wanted a Nobel. This is like Trump being gifted a purple heart from a veteran during the campaign, which he said at the time was the much easier route for obtaining something so precious.
1
You accept an award like this to honor all the other musicians that you surrounded yourself with... and the other song writers that influenced your work (yeah, there were some)... You give tribute to those who helped you along the way and you graciously acknowledge your small place in the very large universe of music by doing so...
Or you go play a concert for your fans and bathe in their applause and singular adoration... Because that is what you know...
Or you go play a concert for your fans and bathe in their applause and singular adoration... Because that is what you know...
3
I really appreciate Bob Dylan for all that he has contributed to music and my/our life in general, but I really have the feeling that his snubbing of the Nobel Committee has more to do with marketing strategy than a natural 'insouciance'.
We see the same phenomenon among many people as they grow old; the same techniques/antics that worked in our youth fall really flat in our mature years. Mr. Dylan's attitude in this case makes him come off as arrogant and, frankly, old and out of touch. Too bad.
We see the same phenomenon among many people as they grow old; the same techniques/antics that worked in our youth fall really flat in our mature years. Mr. Dylan's attitude in this case makes him come off as arrogant and, frankly, old and out of touch. Too bad.
48
Maybe it isn't a technique or an antic. Maybe it is just who he is: a flawed genius whose personality and social traits didn't age or mature the way most people's do (in part because they never had to because they were sheltered by his genius).
Or maybe he is just sitting in some hotel room on the road reading the NYT comments section having a good laugh.
Who really knows? I have quit trying to figure Dylan out and just decided to enjoy the music.
Or maybe he is just sitting in some hotel room on the road reading the NYT comments section having a good laugh.
Who really knows? I have quit trying to figure Dylan out and just decided to enjoy the music.
1
I am reminded of the great Peter Cook who used to respond with the following when he wasnt interested in accepting an invitation :
I regeret I shall be unable to attend . Having consulted my calendar it seems that evening I shall be busy watching television .
I regeret I shall be unable to attend . Having consulted my calendar it seems that evening I shall be busy watching television .
1
I really wonder what can be more important than a Nobel Prize. I have been very surprised when the prize has been assigned to him. Clearly it was the time for USA,but after what kind of reasoning the Nobel Committee selected Dylan instead of Philip Roth or Cormac McCarthy.
1
Given the events of the last couple of years and especially the last nine days, I am thoroughly embarrassed to be an American. Trying to figure out what's going on in Bob Dylan's head is fruitless. Ungracious, crass, boorish... pick one. There's an awful lot of it going around these days, and I for one am bloody sick of it. Complete narcissists make poor Nobel Prize winners and even worse presidents.
It's a shame he will not go. God knows America could use the boost right now, to see him there; we are so low. Perhaps his reluctance to make much of a fuss about this prize, or show himself publicly in connection with it, is that he is sensitive to all those who say he doesn't deserve it. Even he himself does not think he deserves it, perhaps. Thinks to publicly go there and accept it is an act of vanity he can't bring himself to.
He needs to go and accept it if for no other reason than as an act of taking a hit for the home team,
He does deserve it and I think in 200-300 years everyone would understand why he got it and would agree he deserved it.
He needs to go and accept it if for no other reason than as an act of taking a hit for the home team,
He does deserve it and I think in 200-300 years everyone would understand why he got it and would agree he deserved it.
1
He accepted other awards, including many that celebrate corporate influence, graciously and in person. He is on tour and is reportedly vigorous. So, he's mysterious about his Nobel prize, and his supporters are manufacturing all manner of excuses for him. But really, the only reason he can get away with being rude on a global scale is because he is rich and famous. He lives by different rules than the rest of us and is given a free pass by his fans, regardless of their politics.
1
English is my second language and before I moved to the States in the 1980s, I learned a lot of English by listening to Dylan and making out the lyrics of his songs. I loved Blood on the Tracks, so many words. Anyway, I've often said that I learned English from Bob Dylan and I am glad to see him receive this honor.
1
I've been around a long time and I still don't "get it" with Dylan. I have always considered him to be a product of critics and "music scholars" who apparently are capable of hearing something that I am tone-deaf to. My favorite Dylan music is Zappa's send-up of him in the song "Flakes."
1
And needless to say, you never will "get it". Some claim, "he's a singer, a songwriter - that's not literature!". How can you not be moved by words like these -
"Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares propaganda, all is phony
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False goals, I scuff at pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say, "Okay, I have had enough, what else can you show me?"
"Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares propaganda, all is phony
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes must get lonely
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False goals, I scuff at pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say, "Okay, I have had enough, what else can you show me?"
Dylan was not "busy" until this week at the last minute. What is so urgent one could not accept a prestigious award such as this? He may be talented but he is rude and unappreciative.
3
The committee has been sending some mixed signal it its history, especially in the area of politics, where it has, in a few instances, awarded its prize to not-so-much-perfect people. This may have contributed to some laureates not wishing to accept the prize.
"But even after that, Mr. Dylan still held out on the academy. Like a teenager being coy about whether to accept an invitation to the prom, he refused to commit to attending the traditional white-tie award ceremony on Dec. 10"
Really? Sorry, Bobby's always been an outsider and doesn't like attention in the halls of power. For example, when he preformed at the white house he had no interest in meeting the president. He preformed, shook his hand, and made an exit back on to the street. I'm not sure why the writer needs to opine here and sound like a frustrated aristocrat that gets upset when someone doesn't fulfill a social norm in their small and stuffy world.
Really? Sorry, Bobby's always been an outsider and doesn't like attention in the halls of power. For example, when he preformed at the white house he had no interest in meeting the president. He preformed, shook his hand, and made an exit back on to the street. I'm not sure why the writer needs to opine here and sound like a frustrated aristocrat that gets upset when someone doesn't fulfill a social norm in their small and stuffy world.
1
I can only smile. Dylan is showing his disdain for a price that is very prestigious and generally empty of any significance.
Perhaps, they should have awarded it to Trump for his masterpice contribution to 'con' literature: The Art of the Deal"
Perhaps, they should have awarded it to Trump for his masterpice contribution to 'con' literature: The Art of the Deal"
A spokesman for the Nobel Committee said that Dylan would be expected either to deliver a speech or give them a command performance, which seemed to be the Committee's actual preference - I guess if they really want to see him perform, Dylan's telling them to get in line and buy a ticket just like everyone else.
1
The Nobel prize committee probably didn't feel like doing all that pesky reading this year so they gave the prize to Dylan as a cover for not doing their homework. It was a lazy choice and they should not be surprised that Dylan responded lazily in kind. I mean have any of them ever been to the snooze fest that is a Dylan show? The man makes zero effort to connect to his audience and is proud of it, anybody expecting him to clap like a seal over anything will be disappointed.
1
I only hope that closed captions are provided when and if Mr. Dylan gives his Nobel Lecture so we can (at least) understand what he is saying.
Also, moving on to next year, can we continue to say that Americans are still a no show in Nobel Lit ever since Toni Morrison so personally and graciously accepted this prestigious prize in 1993?
K
Also, moving on to next year, can we continue to say that Americans are still a no show in Nobel Lit ever since Toni Morrison so personally and graciously accepted this prestigious prize in 1993?
K
This certainly is the season of people winning things they didn't expect to win and then not being sure how to handle themselves in the aftermath.
I don't blame Bob for not attending the ceremony. He knows darn well that the Swedes would stop him at the border and ask to see his harmonica permit. That would present a problem, as he has never been issued one.
There are a lot of house cats that do a much better job of keeping their composure when Bob doesn't play that harmonica.
Sweden doesn't need the likes of Dylan. They have Zlatan - and always will.
I don't blame Bob for not attending the ceremony. He knows darn well that the Swedes would stop him at the border and ask to see his harmonica permit. That would present a problem, as he has never been issued one.
There are a lot of house cats that do a much better job of keeping their composure when Bob doesn't play that harmonica.
Sweden doesn't need the likes of Dylan. They have Zlatan - and always will.
I would have to disagree with all of those here who expect Dylan to play the good boy and show up for his award. He wouldn't be Dylan if he did that. The very characteristics that led him to create the work that earned him the award mean that he won't be showing up to claim it.
As Einstein quipped to a friend while listening to a gushing speech in his honor, "But the man doesn't wear socks."
As Einstein quipped to a friend while listening to a gushing speech in his honor, "But the man doesn't wear socks."
4
Yes, he didn't unplug his guitar when the hounds wanted him to, either: Bob being Bob, and get over it!
1
When asked about what he valued most in his life in music, Igor Stravinsky stated that the creative act of composing was cherished above all the prizes and accolades. My guess is that Bob Dylan will be engaged with creative musical pursuits during the time period in question, something he too loves most of all.
6
The committee of the Nobel Prize for Literature showed at least once that he did not appreciate being snubbed by a laureate. Remember after Sartre declined the prize in 1964, it took 24 years (and the death of the impudent) for a French writing author to be bestowed the prize again (Claude Simon in 1984) to the detriment of André Malraux (who otherwise would have most probably been chosen in the 60s-70s).
Americans can only hope that it won’t take that long for one of their writers to be honored by the Swedish Academy again.
Americans can only hope that it won’t take that long for one of their writers to be honored by the Swedish Academy again.
2
That would seem to be an issue with Noble Prize Committee punishing others because of one person's snub. That in and of itself should make some refuse a prize. Would the Committee refuse to issue a prize to another white white person because Dylan's refusal to show or say to a black person because a black winner failed to show up? Americans rather than worrying about other Americans being snubbed should just point out the hypocrisy if they think Americans are being snubbed. Who should win or not win is always in debate and because one doesn't see who they wish to win does not mean somebody is being snubbed but rather that there is just disagreement on winners. We see this all the time as to movie awards and music awards, why not awards as to literature or any science? Many think Dylan himself should not be considered for a prize in literature. many in music from the past are just as deserving as Dylan I would say.
Busy...right. Even he knows it's a joke: that the Nobel Committee is a joke, except for the sciences.
6
Maybe he's sick and doesn't want to let the world know.
3
Like Thoreau, Dylan's message is "follow your genius" and don't idolize others. Take what he can give you and appreciate it. Otherwise leave the man alone.
6
He has accepted and shown up for many awards including a few Grammy Awards and the Medal of Freedom. They are no more or any less awards of idolization.
1
"Something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?"
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?"
4
Bob's an old, weird American.
9
Is this- and he, really worth all of this time- and ink?
12
Bob Dylan is a construction of the poet Robert Zimmerman. Read Idiot Wind.
3
Can't I just listen to it? Reading it reminds me of how ham-fisted and sing-songy the stuff is when you take the music away. Which reminds me of why all of this is ludicrous...
Joni Mitchell is being proven right once again with her comments on Dylan back in 2010.
4
What did they expect? This guy has no talent and no manners. The guy that went to his grave this week, Leonard Cohen, deserved the honor, this guy who can't sing and can't write and can't even be polite when honored....pffftttttt!
23
Cohen though good, couldn't walk in Dylan's shoes. Dylan changed music on his own. Moving folk music into electric and helping to bring about the end of Tin Pan Alley. Wiki lists 58 artists that recorded songs Dylan wrote and that is only artists whose names begin with the letter A. Artists from the Beatles to Stevie Wonder recorded Dylan stuff. that would include country and folk artists from Johnny Cash through through Earl Scruggs and Lucinda Williams But he can't write? One needs to be polite? Why? Was John Lennon polite? J D Salinger? Norman Mailer? Politeness is over rated. Others refusing awards, are to numerous to name from refusing a Grammy to an Oscar. Axel Rose refused to be honored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame how's that for politeness.
Bob is Bob, and on the strength and beauty of his music, always will be. Anybody who has ever written or sung owes him a serious debt for improving the power and content of American music. HIs lyrics are a lllooooonnnnggggg way past "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. You go, Bob, or stay. Your body of work over 60 or so years is a prize for all Americans and citzens of this fractured planet, and about all anyone could hope for on a dark and loveless night.
6
Could his refusal have to do with the fact the Alfred nobel is known for inventing dynamite? Masters of War...
"Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul"
"Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul"
10
HEY--now there's an angle. In fact, the prizes were created after Nobel read a premature obit crediting him with profiteering off of arms sales. It is entirely in keeping with Dylan's image to reject association with the likes of this. The only question remaining would be, why doesn't he come out and SAY THAT? The writer to whom the award is being given, this uncompromising firebrand of a poet who became a generation's voice against hypocrisy, presumably would...
What's stopping him from refusing the prize altogether, if that's the case? He said nothing for two weeks, then he thanked the Nobel Prize profusely and said he'd come if he could, and now he's saying he has 'other engagements. Doesn't sound like a principled stand to me.
Pompous ,Arrogant and disrespectful. An example of what most of the world thinks of us Americans. I feel like tossing all his. music.
5
TOO BUSY!!?
Bob please just say "Thanks but no thanks..." and let the committee pick number two on the list who will be overjoyed with the honor and drop every thing to be at the awards presentation.
Bob please just say "Thanks but no thanks..." and let the committee pick number two on the list who will be overjoyed with the honor and drop every thing to be at the awards presentation.
6
Hey Bob! Get over yourself. Gotta serve somebody!
3
arrogant. I hope the Academy will think about this next year, when they will award the Prize to a writer, a real one.
and wait before people start saying yes he is a writer..blah blah blah.. i give you one name more deserving than Dylan: Leonard Cohen
and wait before people start saying yes he is a writer..blah blah blah.. i give you one name more deserving than Dylan: Leonard Cohen
14
You HAVE to love this guy.
If they want to give him an award, give it to him, but don't disrupt him.
Makes me love him all the more.
If they want to give him an award, give it to him, but don't disrupt him.
Makes me love him all the more.
8
Never a NICE guy, Dylan proves once again that he's also a RUDE guy. He can write lyrics, that's for sure. It's too bad he can't also be a decent, grateful human being.
11
Hey Bob...I finally stumbled upon someone who still actually listens to your work after the Time Out of Mind album...that was back in 1996, wasn`t it?
Anyway, he thinks you should go...
I too think you should go, never miss an opportunity to give Joni Mitchell a wink
Anyway, he thinks you should go...
I too think you should go, never miss an opportunity to give Joni Mitchell a wink
Have to disagree with you. Dylan has released top-notch albums subsequent to Time Out Of Mind (which was released in 1997). Love and Theft, Modern Times, and Tempest are unequivocally great albums. I also recommend Together through Life (though I prefer the aforementioned titles.)
His Sinatra covers are also very good. I recommend them to any fan.
His Sinatra covers are also very good. I recommend them to any fan.
Cheers Fasteddie...thanks for the heads up
Should Mr. Dylan be requiredtoi accept the Nobel Prize because The Committee thinks he should. Shame on them. Nominate someone who NEEDS the prize like Ava DuVernay or Yasmine El Rashidi . It feels to me like They just wanted to meet him, and have him kiss their "ring". I love Dylan more now than ever. The Nobel Committee has no clothes. Besides Alfred Nobel invented DYNAMITE. And the prize is for PEACE? Can you say- Subterranean Homesick Blues?
3
I am not a Bob Dylan fan, but I see his music as PROTEST. So, it may be fitting for him to protest the Nobel committee, in his own way, at this time.
Perhaps, with the election of Donald J. Trump, we are entering an era of protest, of many kinds. We know we live in a world that is so much less than it can be. Perhaps it is time to voice our concerns with our own actions, as well as with our words.
Maybe Dylan will, in fact, have a statement of protest or a song of protest about the Nobel prize, itself. Time will tell...
"The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind"
Mazel Tov to Bob Dylan for his award and for his CHUTZPAH!
==============================================
Perhaps, with the election of Donald J. Trump, we are entering an era of protest, of many kinds. We know we live in a world that is so much less than it can be. Perhaps it is time to voice our concerns with our own actions, as well as with our words.
Maybe Dylan will, in fact, have a statement of protest or a song of protest about the Nobel prize, itself. Time will tell...
"The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind"
Mazel Tov to Bob Dylan for his award and for his CHUTZPAH!
==============================================
5
Where is the love for this tremendous artist? The Academy chose him because his work is wonderful and I am shocked that more commentators are not fans. His lyrics are amazing! Are you all too young to have listened to Bob Dylan? Not too late to try.
7
Why can't we just let Dylan be Dylan? He is on his own journey and we are fortunate to travel along. Let him deal with this in his way and not judge. He is an artist; he is iconic. He has given us so much. He has more to give, maybe even to the Nobel Committee.
w
60
He's busy.
He's a jerk.
He's a jerk.
5
The Nobel Committee should institute new rules for future winners:
1) The winner must pick up his or her telephone by the 3rd ring (learn Sweden's country code, it's +46 on your caller ID!) or the Committee shall call the next person on the list, and keep going down the list, and the first person to speak directly to the Committee wins.
2) The winner must publicly grovel before each member of the Committee to express his or her gratitude.
3) Except in the case of death or acts of God, the winner must appear in person to accept the award. In case of acts of God, the winner must duly identify the particular God that is causing those particular acts that are causing him or her to miss the ceremony.
1) The winner must pick up his or her telephone by the 3rd ring (learn Sweden's country code, it's +46 on your caller ID!) or the Committee shall call the next person on the list, and keep going down the list, and the first person to speak directly to the Committee wins.
2) The winner must publicly grovel before each member of the Committee to express his or her gratitude.
3) Except in the case of death or acts of God, the winner must appear in person to accept the award. In case of acts of God, the winner must duly identify the particular God that is causing those particular acts that are causing him or her to miss the ceremony.
7
i'm glad you all have dylan figured out so i don't have to
4
Still thinking of Phillip Roth. What the hell? He's not going to live forever. Why not? Hands down best fiction artist in the USA. Damn.
1
He probably thinks it's absurd that he got the award and I agree.
4
Really, who cares as it is his business,
4
The only requisite is to give a speech sometime during the next 6 months. I'm sure that if that happens many will attend to hear that sentence or two. They'll then cavalcade forward with their lazy-phones to get a quick selfie!
3
Obviously, the big question here is what those "pre-existing commitments" are. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity he's passing up, after all. Must be some pretty important stuff he's got lined up! Or is that convenient phrase just an excuse? Ours is not to judge. I think it's great he got the prize and I'm only a little disappointed that he won't be receiving it in person.
The "pre-existing commitments" are none of your - or our - business. He's created music that millions of people love and provided commentary on his times that people will reference in the future. He doesn't owe us his life.
Dylan is booked solid with Mr. Brownstone meetings
We thought
them folks were liberals
Those hell raising faith shaking folks
Them folks who were folk singers
And protestors
We thought so much of them
We shouldna
We shoulda seen
What they became I me mine
Funny how time turns ya
And money makes ya
And self love breaks ya
They're shells of what we thought they were
Hell they even voted for Trump
them folks were liberals
Those hell raising faith shaking folks
Them folks who were folk singers
And protestors
We thought so much of them
We shouldna
We shoulda seen
What they became I me mine
Funny how time turns ya
And money makes ya
And self love breaks ya
They're shells of what we thought they were
Hell they even voted for Trump
1
Never mind...we have an infinitely bigger jerk to deal with now. You know who I mean.
4
So many opinions when we don't know anything about it. Maybe someone he loves is getting married. Maybe he has to have surgery. Maybe it's just something that makes him really uncomfortable and thus would cancel out the honor of the award. It is meant to honor him, right? Not to bind him.
Whatever, I was totally delighted to hear that he won - thank you, Nobel committee! And thank YOU, Mr. Dylan, for the songs - especially, "Lay, Lady, Lay," my personal favorite. Got me some good lovin' with that one!
Whatever, I was totally delighted to hear that he won - thank you, Nobel committee! And thank YOU, Mr. Dylan, for the songs - especially, "Lay, Lady, Lay," my personal favorite. Got me some good lovin' with that one!
5
Anyone who expects Bob Dylan to turn into a dancing bear because he won a prize doesn't know him very well.
17
Anyone who's followed Bob Allen Zimmerman's career -- and, especially, experienced him "live" -- probably isn't too surprised about the old icon's latest vis-à-vis with Loony. Dylan is more than gritty and eccentric; he's a bit out there, as most of us know.
Maybe if the venerable men of the Nobel Committee allowed weed during acceptance speeches, Bob would have reconsidered his invite -- even offered to host the proceedings.
Maybe if the venerable men of the Nobel Committee allowed weed during acceptance speeches, Bob would have reconsidered his invite -- even offered to host the proceedings.
4
So much pride and arrogance.....if you don't want it, don't take it or take it and give the award money to the hundreds of 'true' writers who are struggling to make a living. At least, turn up for the meeting.
1
In a recent interview Paul McCartney talked about what their burgeoning fame did to the Beatles. It became normal for people to interrupt them in restaurants to ask for autographs. McCartney said when they were told 'no' the fans sometimes became abusive saying "You are only rich and famous because I bought your records!" McCartney said the Beatles response was "if this is the price of fame, we'll give it back."
Nobody has the right to tell Bob Dylan he must go to Europe for this ceremony. It's no reflection on the prize itself, the United States or on Bob Dylan if he has reasons not to make the journey - and he didn't apply for this prize, he owes no one an explanation for why he isn't going to go.
Amazing how people regard Dylan as a puppet, who must do what the Nobel Committee - and his fans - think he should.
He doesn't owe you anything. Likewise, he didn't ask for the prize and he doesn't owe the Nobel Committee anything except "Thanks." He's said he feels "honored." That should be enough.
This is at a point where people on the Nobel Committee have been so openly critical of his response as to appear to be trying to bully him into attending. Which is beginning to be offensive...
Nobody has the right to tell Bob Dylan he must go to Europe for this ceremony. It's no reflection on the prize itself, the United States or on Bob Dylan if he has reasons not to make the journey - and he didn't apply for this prize, he owes no one an explanation for why he isn't going to go.
Amazing how people regard Dylan as a puppet, who must do what the Nobel Committee - and his fans - think he should.
He doesn't owe you anything. Likewise, he didn't ask for the prize and he doesn't owe the Nobel Committee anything except "Thanks." He's said he feels "honored." That should be enough.
This is at a point where people on the Nobel Committee have been so openly critical of his response as to appear to be trying to bully him into attending. Which is beginning to be offensive...
Is Dylan becoming this century's Bobby Fischer? Too bad he couldn't be a little classier this time.
1
There are so many parallels between Dylan and Trump!
The Nobel committee's choice was a shocker, almost as much as the people's choice for President. Let's hope DJT handles his undeserved elevation better than Dylan has. Can Trump do better than Dylan? Not sure the answer to that question bodes well for the nation and the world.
The Nobel committee's choice was a shocker, almost as much as the people's choice for President. Let's hope DJT handles his undeserved elevation better than Dylan has. Can Trump do better than Dylan? Not sure the answer to that question bodes well for the nation and the world.
Nobel Prize committee: "Here's your prize, now....dance!"
Dylan: (long pause) "Maybe someday..."
---
"I have dined with kings, I’ve been offered wings
And I’ve never been too impressed"
- Bob Dylan
---
Dylan: (long pause) "Maybe someday..."
---
"I have dined with kings, I’ve been offered wings
And I’ve never been too impressed"
- Bob Dylan
---
11
Perhaps Bob Dylan is shy. Perhaps he is tired. Perhaps he has Aspergers' Syndrome. Perhaps he has social anxiety.
It doesn't matter if he is all of these or none of these. It is his own life and he can do as he wants. Haters gonna hate. Leave him alone. He never asked for the prize. Why should he be obligated to go and pick it up?
It doesn't matter if he is all of these or none of these. It is his own life and he can do as he wants. Haters gonna hate. Leave him alone. He never asked for the prize. Why should he be obligated to go and pick it up?
94
Why couldn't he give a timely response? No excuse for that.
Well, is he going to cash the cheque? If so, then a bit of graciousness is the least he can do.
Perhaps he's a jerk.
Could this possibly be the same Dylan who wrote, "He built a fire on main street, and shot it full of holes." Or, "the princess and the prince discuss what is real and what is not." Or, "You know something is happening, but you don't know what it is. Do you Mr. Jones?"
Don't try to figure out what the guy is like now that he is 75, just appreciate his way with words and thoughts and the way he has integrated them with music over the years. Give him some credit for all the other artists he has inspired. If you think he is not a "nice guy," why dwell on it? Why care?
And to all the critics here who are quick to judge, might he say the following? --->
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
Don't try to figure out what the guy is like now that he is 75, just appreciate his way with words and thoughts and the way he has integrated them with music over the years. Give him some credit for all the other artists he has inspired. If you think he is not a "nice guy," why dwell on it? Why care?
And to all the critics here who are quick to judge, might he say the following? --->
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks they really found you
5
"I ain't going to work on Maggie's farm no more."
4
Typical rude, classless American
Accept our award, damn you! Lest anyone think otherwise, Bob Dylan is bigger than the Nobel Prizes, they do not validate Dylan. He doesn't need the money, he doesn't need the fame, or the hassle.
Richard Feynman (Physics 1965) set the gold standard for dismissing the Noble Prize out of hand as meaningless, even getting the name wrong, referring to it as a noble prize:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUcmKDaklY
Richard Feynman (Physics 1965) set the gold standard for dismissing the Noble Prize out of hand as meaningless, even getting the name wrong, referring to it as a noble prize:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUcmKDaklY
2
I just think he's like me: Nothing short my dead self would consign to slip the surly bonds.
Yo, Zimmy! Ring me up and we'll commiserate.
Yo, Zimmy! Ring me up and we'll commiserate.
"Bob Hope will go to the opening of a phone booth in a gas station in Anaheim, providing they have a camera there and three people."
- Marlon Brando
Maybe they should have given it to Bob Hope.
- Marlon Brando
Maybe they should have given it to Bob Hope.
5
Bobby's been a little strange ever since the motorcycle accident,.
my favorite dylan song - every grain of sand - suggests how he views things
'I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man'
In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed
There’s a dyin’ voice within me reaching out somewhere
Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair
Don’t have the inclination to look back on any mistake
Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break
In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand
Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear
Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer
The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay
I gaze into the doorway of temptation’s angry flame
And every time I pass that way I always hear my name
Then onward in my journey I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand
I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer’s dream, in the chill of a wintry light
In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space
In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face
I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there’s someone there, other times it’s only me
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand
'I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man'
In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed
There’s a dyin’ voice within me reaching out somewhere
Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair
Don’t have the inclination to look back on any mistake
Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break
In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand
Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear
Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer
The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay
I gaze into the doorway of temptation’s angry flame
And every time I pass that way I always hear my name
Then onward in my journey I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand
I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer’s dream, in the chill of a wintry light
In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space
In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face
I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there’s someone there, other times it’s only me
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand
3
Should have been Leonard Cohen, anyway.
7
He's expected to give a lecture. Given that Dylan was such a resonant voice for the 60s counter culture and we've just elected the most divisive president since Nixon, I'm cautiously optimistic that he wants to take the opportunity to actually say something.
But the timing isn't right. We are still digesting the election and figuring out what it means. Or as he put it:
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
Keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
But the timing isn't right. We are still digesting the election and figuring out what it means. Or as he put it:
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
Keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
2
Maybe he has a medical appointment and doesn't want to say.
1
"Prizes" for telling the truth might make some people uncomfortable. It could be the death knell to creativity. And maybe he has something to do that he considers more important than claiming an honor he didn't seek or want. Why should the man feel compelled to react to everyone else's sense of "how important the Nobel is?"
Leave the man be.
Leave the man be.
7
It's like saying I can't go to my wedding because I am busy. If Dylan doesn't consider the prize worthwhile, he should reject it. That's that simple. This is the equivalent of those pusillanimous Republicans who said they would vote for Trump but wouldn't endorse him. Anyone who deals in this kind of double-talk
isn't worth listening to.
isn't worth listening to.
3
There's a good story about Einstein turning to Charlie Chaplin on being greeted & applauded by a huge crowd somewhere in the US and asking "what does it all mean?" Chaplin answered: "Absolutely nothing."
98
When Albert Einstein met Charlie Chaplin. Einstein said, "What I admire most about your art, is its universality. You do not say a word, and yet ... the world understands you."
after awile anything becomes a bore
Please stop this nonsense. Samuel Becket, a giant of modern literature, also did not attend. I don't remember any great consternation, very little surprise or heated comment. Certainly it had no significant effect on Becket's reputation or on the Nobel Committee. Having failed to adequately inform, in a major public event in American democracy, the New York Times returns to trivia!
15
Except that Samuel Becker sent his publisher to the reception and distributed the money to friends and people in need.
A wry Dylan smile to the committee. Nice tunes that will "endure" for a time, but they stand in the shadow of American writers like Faulkner. Nothing more to sing or say.
40
Did Faulkner sing? Carl Sandburg did, and Bob Dylan visited him.
1
"Nice tunes..." ? --- Mr. Dylan never compared himself to Faulkner--you and the Nobel Committee did. He did not solicit or campaign for this award. And I think he would prefer that you separate the message from the messenger--as you seem to have anger issues with Mr. Dylan himself.
2
Most of the people who win this award need it. They need the recognition, even great luminaries like Yeats and Neruda are/were read by a tiny fraction of people. They often need the money as well. Dylan is beyond famous; he belongs to the ages. And he's a very wealthy man. So really, what is this to him? Recognition? He's got that. Vindication? Ditto. It's a nice thing, sure, but I think it's also a bit of a pain in the neck for him. One more aggravation. He is committed to performing, to being seen and heard, even after so many years, and even at the age of 75. Let us celebrate him, but don't let's expect him to celebrate himself. He is way beyond that.
152
Well said. And above and beyond all that there are two more related reasons. 1) He knows he's a musician not a creator or literature. 2) The Nobel committee are just another group of fanboys and he's spent his life trying to avoid the fawning. This guy is the North Star and the chasm will be enormous when he's gone.
The Nobel Prize does not go to those most in need of vindication or recognition -- otherwise I would have several of them by now. It goes to people whose contributions merit it. Dylan's work merits it.
I've always loved Dylan's music and poetry, and I've always had the deepest respect and highest regard for the Nobel Prize. Dylan is snubbing the Committee and he is diminished in my eyes.
I've always loved Dylan's music and poetry, and I've always had the deepest respect and highest regard for the Nobel Prize. Dylan is snubbing the Committee and he is diminished in my eyes.
39
Not way beyond accepting the 850.000 € obviously.
1
Bob Dylan is 75 years old and has spent much of 2016 on tour, performing every night in a different city, almost without a break. The tour ends in late November.
Dylan has said he appreciates being given the prize. Perhaps at his age, he too needs a break and dropping an award he didn't know he was being considered for - requiring him to fly to Europe - into his schedule at the end of a long exhausting year may just be more than he can do. Dylan has prodigious energy for a man of 75, but he's only human.
These harsh judgements about his manners - from people who know nothing about his life - seem at the very least to be ungenerous.
He may be exhausted. Or there may be something more important going on in his life. Some people can't imagine there could be anything more important in anyone's life than winning a Nobel Prize. But those are people lacking in imagination....
Dylan has said he appreciates being given the prize. Perhaps at his age, he too needs a break and dropping an award he didn't know he was being considered for - requiring him to fly to Europe - into his schedule at the end of a long exhausting year may just be more than he can do. Dylan has prodigious energy for a man of 75, but he's only human.
These harsh judgements about his manners - from people who know nothing about his life - seem at the very least to be ungenerous.
He may be exhausted. Or there may be something more important going on in his life. Some people can't imagine there could be anything more important in anyone's life than winning a Nobel Prize. But those are people lacking in imagination....
63
Yeah, a world tour and now someone wanting to hand him an honor for his body of work which would cause him to have to fly all the way to Sweden -- gee, how can we expect a multi-millionaire flying in a private plane to stay at first class hotel for a couple of days to endure such a "hardship."
Don't make excuses for Dylan being flat our ignorant, ungracious and impolite to people who just want to thank him for his contribution to the world.
Don't make excuses for Dylan being flat our ignorant, ungracious and impolite to people who just want to thank him for his contribution to the world.
1
Then he should have declined it. This middle muddle just made everyone feel confused and lousy.
3
What a disappointment. Add him to what seems to be a growing list of Americans who trumpet to the world that we are a bunch of self-obsessed ungraceful twits – President Elect included.
179
Based strictly on most of the comments, it seems to me that even if he did show up, all the haters would be there with their knives out
3
Actually, this is the act of a man who knows and respects literature. It's a far more selfless than selfish move.
2
A self obsessed twit shows up at the award ceremony, sucks in the accolades, and hugs and shakes hands with people he does not know or care about. What he is doing is the exact opposite of being self-obsessed.
2
Wow! Did anyone think that he is on tour through the 23ed of november and that he is 75. The man might be tired right now and need some rest. How about giving him a break! He does not have to be in Stockholm to recieve his prize. It is NOT required. Not every winner of the Nobel has been here to pick it up. Think of that. Were they called jerks, idiots or undeserving? No. Back off!
156
If (God forbid) I was one of the very few to be honored with arguably the most prestigious award ever devised, I'd make Sure I attended. Compared to the rigors of touring, I wouldn't think of a trip to Stockholm from anywhere in the northern hemisphere as arduous. Nor would I think of attendance at the ceremony as merely an opportunity to "pick up" my prize. Why not "pick up" a six pack on the way.
The Nobel isn't a mutual flattery society for overpaid narcisists like the Oscars and the inappropriately named and advertiser invented Peoples' Choice Award. Our Swedish friend is to be forgiven his lack of respect for a domestic institution he is likely too close to and too familiar with to see its value. We as Dylan's compatriots should be embarrassed that such a great American poet has such poor manners.
The Nobel isn't a mutual flattery society for overpaid narcisists like the Oscars and the inappropriately named and advertiser invented Peoples' Choice Award. Our Swedish friend is to be forgiven his lack of respect for a domestic institution he is likely too close to and too familiar with to see its value. We as Dylan's compatriots should be embarrassed that such a great American poet has such poor manners.
59
"Pre-existing commitments" can be the polite way out of a function a person is not up for emotionally or physically. I agree with you, Ken from Sweden.
22
I love his poetry. But this is not classy on his part.
29
Sometimes it's prudent to be gracious. In other words, don't be a
jerk. Karma Bob, never forget Karma.
jerk. Karma Bob, never forget Karma.
109
Bob Dylan has always been a jerk.
I recommend you research the meaning of karma. It really means nothing in this context, nothing at all.
Too bad the award wasn't given to Leonard Cohen.
330
He, too, would have been unlikely to make the journey to Stockholm.
Also unable to attend.
1
Yeah, at least he would have had a good excuse for not showing up.
1
I have loved your music for a half-century, Bob, but now you're just being a jerk. It's sad, really.
96
I never liked his music all that much, but I admire him for not attending. Awards ceremonies are dumb. Most ceremonies are dumb.
An interesting comment. Of course, Leonard Cohen definitely couldn't have attended, having passed away in early November, having just released his last album just the month before. While both I believe should be recognized for their remarkable poetry and contribution, I am so very pleased Bob Dylan was recognized for his.
Poetry sadly is vastly underrated in the public view. As another poet wrote,
"“It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.”
Thank you, Bob Dylan, and to Leonard Cohen, and poets everywhere.
Poetry sadly is vastly underrated in the public view. As another poet wrote,
"“It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.”
Thank you, Bob Dylan, and to Leonard Cohen, and poets everywhere.
he knows how to play the game - when you lack talent - you acquire other skills
22
While I dislike the way Dylan chose to handle this, the suggestion that he "lacks talent" is laughable.
Maybe he's just rightfully embarrassed about winning?
36
He can decline. That is an option. In fact I wish he would given that he did not in any way, shape or form deserve it. Serves the committee right.
40
For most of his career there was always a faction public that complained that Bob Dylan couldn't sing. His voice was terrible! Now that he has received the Nobel Prize in Literature, he has suddenly become a singer. Ya can't win Bob.
If that's true, then he always had the option to refuse.
Just more Bob Dylan truth. How should he show up? He is not in the ballpark of the brilliant writers and poets out there and he knows it. What a shame that the Nobel Committee pandered to being cool rather than choose one of these amazing people who have dedicated their lives to their art--often times without fame or renumeration--just for love and the joy of what sings through them.
90
I'm surprised how many people writing comments here fail to understand the meaning of the word Rebel.
Remember Brando in "The Wild One"?
"What are you rebelling against?"
"What have you got?"
"A Nobel Prize"
Brando would have understood. So do I.
Remember Brando in "The Wild One"?
"What are you rebelling against?"
"What have you got?"
"A Nobel Prize"
Brando would have understood. So do I.
19
Brilliant. Come back and tell me about it 1,000 years from now.
1
No, a real rebel would have declined the prize. Accepting but refusing to do so in a civil manner is just everyday jerk behavior.
Me too! And I love him all the more for it.
Nothing worse than a person with no manners regardless of how well they write, sing, act, dance or whatever. The Nobel committee gave him the prize to honor him and his work and he's too much of a jerk to just say "thank you" and accept the award. Just one more ugly American.
128
There IS something worse than someone with no manners,
A talentless FRAUD with no manners.
A talentless FRAUD with no manners.
A person with good manners would never have become Bob Dylan in the first place.
1
This is a disgrace. The academy should withdraw the honor in the face of such disrespect. Shame on him.
161
Shame on the committee .. They've brought great shame to literature
Shame shame shame
Did I just write some lyrical poem ? Or at least a sentence ? I guess I'm a born talent then ...
Shame shame shame
Did I just write some lyrical poem ? Or at least a sentence ? I guess I'm a born talent then ...
Withdrawing the honor would only have the effect of the Academy disgracing itself. The Academy honors itself when it sticks to its choices. However, with Bob Dylan, it would guarantee his place in the canon and force high school teachers of music and literature to study him and inspire rebellious students to love him.
1
This is a disgrace but to the academy. Dylan didn't ask for the prize. In a way the prize is beneath him. What did the academy expect? That Dylan will burst into tears and thank the academy for the 'great honor'?
Who ever said Bob Dylan was a nice guy?
36
A stupid choice, no surprise.
66
He's a jerk. And the chances of him doing anything good with the money are approximately zero.
52
I have loved the iconoclastic Bob Dylan for 50 years but to shrug off a Nobel prize is beyond the pale. He is not only snubbing the Nobel committee but also his loyal fans who are ecstatic about this achievement.
Come on Bob, put aside the unknowable, inscrutable persona and celebrate a truly remarkable career. If not for yourself, do it for your fans.
Come on Bob, put aside the unknowable, inscrutable persona and celebrate a truly remarkable career. If not for yourself, do it for your fans.
220
You may love Bob, but haven't you learned in 50 years that your own (or anyone's) expectations aren't what guides him?
2
Dylan won the award, not his fans. Dylan's obligation to his fans is putting on shows with an effort that makes his fans feel their money is well spent. Even his recorded works are as much for himself than for his fans. His last two efforts being less than what I like. But that is only my opinion.
Also a 50 year fan of his music, but definitely not a fan of this narcissism.
What did they ever do to you, Bob?
I mean, if the Trump's invite you to the White House, I'd certainly understand you not returning their phone call. But the Nobel committee? Exactly what are we protesting here.
I mean, if the Trump's invite you to the White House, I'd certainly understand you not returning their phone call. But the Nobel committee? Exactly what are we protesting here.
126
Wasn't Alfred Nobel, the founders of Bufors, an armaments manufacturer, you know, one of those "masters of war, ....that build the big guns, ...that build all the bombs"?
1
I wish to point out, in the interview in London, he was asked about attending the ceremony, and while this could have been a coy answer, it turns out to be the truth, he said he didn't know if he was free.
It is possible he is just an honest person.
It is possible he is just an honest person.
19
He is a self-centered child of the 1960s with no respect for tradition. This is the height of ingratitude and rudeness. Bob Dylan has always overestimated himself, and now he shows that he is too precious, too busy, too important to bother with this great honour, which he didn't deserve in the first place.
24
Please explain how he has overestimated himself. How do you know that when he rarely talks to the press. And in his famous 60 minutes interview, he seemed flummoxed that he was looked upon as some sort of savior. Instead of leading the protests against the Vietnam War, he went to Woodstock. A very humble man.
Readers are suggesting Bob is refusing this out of arrogance. It is impossible to guess his reasons, he may actually feel that he doesn't deserve it and is embarrassed by it (wrongly so in my opinion). His whole career, he has always rebuffed being a prophet or a spokesman to a generation. Bob Dylan is a a very literate, self effacing man. I would imagine he has many friends who are writers he thinks are more deserving.
12
Then decline.
After giving a Literature award to a song writer, Academy well deserved these insults.
28
Maybe he can just send the Swedish Academy a "Freewheelin" jigsaw puzzle (retail $24.99) or a "Blowing in the Wind" blanket (retail $74.99) from his online store. It looks like the totebags are sold out, just like him.
31
Before you get too worked up over "disrespect" let me just recall: Henry Kissinger, coming off the brutal Christmas bombings of North Vietnam, got the Nobel "Peace" prize in 1973. He showed up to collect it (not wishing, no doubt, to disrespect the Academy).
Also, Yassir Arafat was no bargain either.
The omission of Rosalind Franklin also did not speak well for the Academy's confronting its sexism.
Dylan's "Literature" prize: meh. Apart from the musical context, who knows what his poetry means -- even he claims he doesn't...,
Also, Yassir Arafat was no bargain either.
The omission of Rosalind Franklin also did not speak well for the Academy's confronting its sexism.
Dylan's "Literature" prize: meh. Apart from the musical context, who knows what his poetry means -- even he claims he doesn't...,
8
One of Miles Davis' wonderful compositions was "So What" and the same applies to this story. Just because internet communication is instantaneous and every newspaper wants a banner on the Nobel Prizes does not equate with a winner having to immediately respond.
Everybody deserves the right to move at their own pace, and if Bob Dylan wants to take his time, that is his prerogative. It does appear that when he does communicate with the Swedish Academy he does so with gentleness and politeness. Anyone who is familiar with his few public speeches, such as to the American Association of Retired People, knows that his presentations are full of profound insight. Dylan will certainly get around to doing a proper job of it.
Pre-existing commitments? How about writing a song? How about recording studio time? How about family? It's his prerogative.
Everybody deserves the right to move at their own pace, and if Bob Dylan wants to take his time, that is his prerogative. It does appear that when he does communicate with the Swedish Academy he does so with gentleness and politeness. Anyone who is familiar with his few public speeches, such as to the American Association of Retired People, knows that his presentations are full of profound insight. Dylan will certainly get around to doing a proper job of it.
Pre-existing commitments? How about writing a song? How about recording studio time? How about family? It's his prerogative.
17
If Presidents and Kings can change their schedules to appear, so too can a folk singer.
25
Presidents or Kings honored with the Peace prize show up to further the cause they are being honored for. Dylan would feel the need to show up if given the Peace prize too, if only to honor the cause of peace around the world. Criticizing Dylan for not coming for a literary prize is strangely but profoundly different.
I think Dylan, too, is "so anxious and agoraphobic that he's not suited as a person to be dragged into public."
Friends say he avoids looking at the audience when he performs now.
Doesn't want to be judged.
I'm guessing that he's had to become the way he is for good reasons.
He's one of the few survivors and his success has only grown because he refuses to be anyone's monkey
and breaks his own trail.
Besides, it doesn't make any sense to judge somebody who is obviously smarter than we are.
We owe him more than he's taken.
Thanks Bob. It's been a pleasure sharing time with you. So glad you got out of the deep dark north woods.
Friends say he avoids looking at the audience when he performs now.
Doesn't want to be judged.
I'm guessing that he's had to become the way he is for good reasons.
He's one of the few survivors and his success has only grown because he refuses to be anyone's monkey
and breaks his own trail.
Besides, it doesn't make any sense to judge somebody who is obviously smarter than we are.
We owe him more than he's taken.
Thanks Bob. It's been a pleasure sharing time with you. So glad you got out of the deep dark north woods.
18
Dylan is old enough to know better, old enough to behave better. He deserves the prize, but his attitude...well, it's time for that to be a-changing. Instead of painting his masterpiece, he's painting himself into a corner.
14
Why is everyone so mad at Dylan? He has every right to do what he wants; he earned it the hardest way possible.
Stop blaming him for being himself.
Stop blaming him for being himself.
36
Maybe the underlying feeling is that he really doesn't deserve the prize. I am among them. His lyrics may be great protest songs, but they're not great literature, in my opinion--even if you can understand what he's singing.
One should accept it decently or decline it, IMHO.
Maybe he'll make up for this botch by donating the $850,00 to a great cause.
Maybe he'll make up for this botch by donating the $850,00 to a great cause.
23
If there was a Nobel prize for non sequiturs the Bob should win for Just Like A Rolling Stone because he was talking to us then. But Leonard should have won for challenging us to respond.
14
A creative force, once understood, is no longer creative. Freedom and spontaneity can leave a void. How funny that literature is a form of communication, but poetry in its ambiguity can ensure that nothing is revealed or made common. I don't know Bob Dylan or even know much of his music after 50 years of hearing it. I know he's provoked a lot of thought, and that's enough. As Fred Rogers said, "I like you just the way you are."
11
Creativity isn't creative if it isn't understood. If you can't understand the creative voice you are hearing, you're probably being conned.
Over the past few weeks, I've gotten really tired of famous people who thumb their noses at revered institutions. These individuals have no civility or manners.
The Nobel committee needs to make it a general rule that recipients of their honors must act like human beings. They should pull the award from Dylan and give it to someone who can actually sing.
The Nobel committee needs to make it a general rule that recipients of their honors must act like human beings. They should pull the award from Dylan and give it to someone who can actually sing.
29
...or someone who writes literature.
2
Yes indeed !!! Someone who can actually sing !! The committee might have thought bob Dylan had a golden voice which would be a great match to the Essence of this prize ...
Sing his song out loud
Sing his song out loud
1
Yet another example of "American exceptionalism"?
And we wonder why so many in the rest of the world are appalled by American arrogance, rudeness, and overweening egotism?
And we wonder why so many in the rest of the world are appalled by American arrogance, rudeness, and overweening egotism?
54
Perhaps the Nobel organization should have contacted Dylan's agent and booked him for the gig.
37
My thoughts, exactly. How many lousy gigs has he played for less than $800k?
I am amazed at how many people think they have the ability to know what is going on in Bob Dylan's mind and therefore the right to judge him accordingly.
I don't know myself, of course, but after paying attention to him, enjoying his work, reading about him, and seeing him perform in concert many, many times, I'd guess it is entirely possible that as someone who has repeatedly demonstrated a kind of deep shyness and awkwardness with public appearances, expressions, and events outside his concerts, overcwhich he has complete control, Bob Dylan may be feeling that all the hooplah and controversy over his selection is too uncomfortable to deal with, especially when people are so inclined to believe their own made-up ideas about his thoughts, feelings and motivations, and then judge him negatively based on those attributed qualities.
I don't know myself, of course, but after paying attention to him, enjoying his work, reading about him, and seeing him perform in concert many, many times, I'd guess it is entirely possible that as someone who has repeatedly demonstrated a kind of deep shyness and awkwardness with public appearances, expressions, and events outside his concerts, overcwhich he has complete control, Bob Dylan may be feeling that all the hooplah and controversy over his selection is too uncomfortable to deal with, especially when people are so inclined to believe their own made-up ideas about his thoughts, feelings and motivations, and then judge him negatively based on those attributed qualities.
64
Yes!, I agree! Dylan is an artist! He has been honored! It is his responsibility to do what is right for him. The fact that he has been so honored, makes it his choice, he is not obligated to please his fans.
1
"I am amazed at how many people think they have the ability to know what is going on in Bob Dylan's mind and therefore the right to judge him accordingly." or who think they know what he means about having a 'prior committment' is and can judge whether it's important enough to justify his failure to attend (as if he needs to justify it all)
Exactly. I suspect from the criticisms of his independent attitude that his critics would be just as unhappy if he showed up and didn't say what they wanted to hear. He can't please/her please him, and isn't obligated to do so. "To thine own self be true." The man is being honest and true to himself. We should all be that strong.
The negativity expressed here won't pull you through. Dylan is very familiar with coming home to a couch-full of fans who broke into his house to adore him. He is thoroughly exhausted with being adored.
Get a sense of proportion: In the year 3000, Pynchon might be taught in the Weird Ancient Literature class, but Dylan will be as familiar as Homer. Nobody will ever have heard of the Nobel Prize.
Get a sense of proportion: In the year 3000, Pynchon might be taught in the Weird Ancient Literature class, but Dylan will be as familiar as Homer. Nobody will ever have heard of the Nobel Prize.
24
No, Shakespeare will be taught. And Bach will be heard.
I agree with Bob Dylan. He writes music and lyrics for himself and his audience. Not for the Nobel committee.
1
If sick of praise, then decline.
3
I think all of these comments really miss the point--and in a big way. Whatever you think of Bob Dylan, his not going in person when people like Yeats, Thomas Mann, Hesse, André Gide, Faulkner, Hemingway, Camus, Jimenez, Mistral, Pablo Neruda, and so many other true giants made the trip and actually attended the ceremony, leaves endless room for interpretation that he thinks he is too clever to take this kind of acknowledgment seriously, when in fact all of these other artists did in fact take it seriously enough to go. It is true that Sartre didn't but he had the courage of his convictions and actually refused the prize.
I mean for heaven's sake Pablo Neruda and Yeats: in no universe can Dylan compare to artists of that caliber. I think he snubs the memory of giants that he could never hope to approach. If they weren't too clever or too good to be bothered to attend, who is this Bob Dylan fellow making all this God-awful racket. This is beyond offensive. It is a sign of the decline of literacy and the arrogance of his generation and subsequent ones that he would even dare to profane the memory of so many real artists.
I mean for heaven's sake Pablo Neruda and Yeats: in no universe can Dylan compare to artists of that caliber. I think he snubs the memory of giants that he could never hope to approach. If they weren't too clever or too good to be bothered to attend, who is this Bob Dylan fellow making all this God-awful racket. This is beyond offensive. It is a sign of the decline of literacy and the arrogance of his generation and subsequent ones that he would even dare to profane the memory of so many real artists.
200
Sad to think that giants like Pasternak were simply unable to attend the ceremony because their governments prevented them. Surely this is a case of the embarrassment of riches.
37
Hemingway did not make the trip.
1
Maybe he feels he doesn't stack up to these artists to begin with. If you've read anything he's said or written, he's extremely humble. Maybe avoiding the Academy, he was trying to decide if he was going to even accept. Now he has to deal with more people questioning his integrity, despite the Academy saying how gracious when they talked to him. Who knows? I doubt he thinks he's being clever.
Pretty clear to me, that as much as I like Bob Dylan's music, this crowd-pleasing Nobel prize choice was a big mistake.
This award should have gone to one of the best writers to come out of a nation that's struggling, to give them some national pride, to showcase an amazing new talent, to recognize someone who actually wrote literature.
Bob Dylan is a terrific musician and should have gotten the Nobel prize for singer/songwriter. His songs are great but they are not great literature.
This award should have gone to one of the best writers to come out of a nation that's struggling, to give them some national pride, to showcase an amazing new talent, to recognize someone who actually wrote literature.
Bob Dylan is a terrific musician and should have gotten the Nobel prize for singer/songwriter. His songs are great but they are not great literature.
33
Doesn't the award (especially literature) go to someone whose works have been around for a while?
You have earned and been given this great honor but don't have the grace and dignity to be present to accept it. Very disappointing.
6
Ya know, there's a possibility, however slight, that Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan, has a *family* gig to attend to. Maybe not. I don't know. But I'd like to think that in the end he really is honoring a previous commitment. They are not all public, even after winning a big ole prize.
14
The Nobel Committee should be more honest about who they pick and stop trying to send messages with their choices. This was an odd one. Just give the prize to the best, most deserving humans.
17
Why do you think the Academy was sending any message other than that many of Bob Dylan's written works, though set to music, do constitute a uniquely valuable, lasting and influential contribution to the world of letters.
There are many people like me who are fully conversant with Shakespeare and aficionados of much of the world's great literature - works by Cervantes, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, James Joyce, Faulkner, Hemingway, and on, who admire and enjoy Bob Dylan's work just as greatly.
And don't forget that the original works of poetry in ancient times, such as the epics of Homer, were composed to be sung.
There are many people like me who are fully conversant with Shakespeare and aficionados of much of the world's great literature - works by Cervantes, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, James Joyce, Faulkner, Hemingway, and on, who admire and enjoy Bob Dylan's work just as greatly.
And don't forget that the original works of poetry in ancient times, such as the epics of Homer, were composed to be sung.
13
Just as well, he didn't deserve it anyway.
27
No point trying to heard this cat.
17
I've herd that before.
11
Man, if you ain't heard that cat, you ain't heard nothin' yet.
9
Pre-existing commitments? Gimme a break. He knows he's incapable of writing a coherent paragraph and wants to be spared the embarrassment of the world knowing. What he didn't know when he responded and what we now all know is that the Swedish Academy requires a speech within six months even if you don't show up for the ceremony. Maybe Mr. Dylan will make do by singing them a song or reciting it. In any cases he's an impolite jerk.
79
I suspect that for many artists of extraordinary stature, they've come to prize and psychologically rely on a high degree of personal expressive autonomy. Artistic freedom, and avoidance of being politically co-opted (by *any* group or agenda) is an incessant challenge. As artists advance in age and career, they often prize a distillation and is simplification of life to their core interests and concerns (like classical musicians sometimes deciding at a certain point "no time for anything but Bach"). Also such artists may become annoyed by adoration and fawning showered on them over decades. He probably would infinitely prefer staying home playing the guitar, perhaps with some friends. Perhaps alone. Thay may very well be the commitment, and it wou I do be consistent with the "being true to himself" that makes Bob Dylan Bob Dylan, and it would be hyocritical to award him for being the sort of guy who'd rather stay home with his guitar, and expect otherwise. He'd prefer those honoring him to pick up a guitar, learn some chords and write a poem, or go do an act of kindness. These are my speculations. In his shoes, I'd find this a hassle and possible threat.
8
You got it! He's no Camus or Faulkner, genius acceptance speeches.
Over Rated.
Hopefully next year it returns to someone who actually deserves it
Hopefully next year it returns to someone who actually deserves it
61
I like your music, Bob. It's good stuff. I also think you owe no one anything.
But this is just crass. More than anything else, it insults the many millions of fans -- including legends like Leonard Cohen, who compared your getting this award to the Nobel committee pinning a medal on Mt. Everest -- who were genuinely joyful at this recognition. Deameaning someone's sense of joy is just not nice.
It reflects poorly on you, not the Nobel committee. In the age of Trump, it validates the perception that your countrymen lack class and tact. A bunch of arrogant boors, in fact.
But this is just crass. More than anything else, it insults the many millions of fans -- including legends like Leonard Cohen, who compared your getting this award to the Nobel committee pinning a medal on Mt. Everest -- who were genuinely joyful at this recognition. Deameaning someone's sense of joy is just not nice.
It reflects poorly on you, not the Nobel committee. In the age of Trump, it validates the perception that your countrymen lack class and tact. A bunch of arrogant boors, in fact.
625
Leonard Cohen's bemused remark was clearly lost on you. How absurd for a committee to pin a medal on Mr. Everest for being the tallest mountain!
9
"I think you owe no one anything."
then
"[lots of things you 'should' be doing; 'crass', 'demeaning', 'arrogant']"
----
'whatever's post is logically inconsistent.
then
"[lots of things you 'should' be doing; 'crass', 'demeaning', 'arrogant']"
----
'whatever's post is logically inconsistent.
1
One lyric from an early song of Dylan's comes to mind: Don't criticize what you can't understand."
He has been honored in the past and gone through the whole show of it: Obama gave him the presidential medal of honor. A man his age and of his accomplishments could settle into a life of just being honored and praised and celebrated. He must be asked to receive all kinds of honorary doctorates and such. Why he accepts one and not another is anyone's guess but we must all recognize that he can't accept them all. A few weeks ago Obama spilled the beans about Dylan's shy behavior during the weekend Obama honored him: one enigmatic smile and handshake. No cocktail party mingling and hob-knobbing with the elite. We can accord such behavior a kind of grace or we can be belligerent and resentful about it: I prefer seeing the integrity and humility in his responses. He deserves the award but can't pretend to be comfortable with the fuss we make in such moments.
He has been honored in the past and gone through the whole show of it: Obama gave him the presidential medal of honor. A man his age and of his accomplishments could settle into a life of just being honored and praised and celebrated. He must be asked to receive all kinds of honorary doctorates and such. Why he accepts one and not another is anyone's guess but we must all recognize that he can't accept them all. A few weeks ago Obama spilled the beans about Dylan's shy behavior during the weekend Obama honored him: one enigmatic smile and handshake. No cocktail party mingling and hob-knobbing with the elite. We can accord such behavior a kind of grace or we can be belligerent and resentful about it: I prefer seeing the integrity and humility in his responses. He deserves the award but can't pretend to be comfortable with the fuss we make in such moments.
3
Dylan joins Woody Allen in knowing awards in the arts are meaningless. Best movies? Best writers? Seriously? It's embarrassing enough to win...but to accept in public is pure humiliation. It's stunning that people don't recognize that.
45
Its not an award of "best writer", but in the spirit of Nobel, recognition of major influence on contemporary culture, in America and around the world. If Dylan can't bring himself to accept it. So be it, but the achievement is still recognized.
7
Please. The Academy Awards are self-congratulatory. self-serving awards handed out by the movie industry to its own. The Nobel Prize is awarded in many fields, including sciences, by a committee that is not promoting itself. Woody Allen's refusal to attend the Oscars cannot be compared to Dylan's not going to Stockholm.
And who are the judges who decide whom are deserving and whom are not? It's arbitrary. When it come to the the arts, we are all judges and, in essence, no one is more qualified than another. If they want to recognize him, fine. But don't expect him to acknowledge and accept something that is the choice of a chosen few.
The Nobel Price for crooning endless nonsense, in a monotone to wit, and plucking a few guitar chords???? I would take Fela Kuti any time:
"Multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist, political maverick, superstar, singer, musician, Panafricanist, polygamist, mystic, and legend." (Wikipedia)!
"Multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre, human rights activist, political maverick, superstar, singer, musician, Panafricanist, polygamist, mystic, and legend." (Wikipedia)!
6
I would be happy to accept the prize on his behalf.
12
"How many roads" of Truly great work ~ and now, this Parody ?
I don't get it.
I have been a great fan of Dylan's writing and music for well over four decades, and, in his Own unique way of working in his Craft, we all know (or, we SHOULD know by now), that Dylan cuts his own Path.
Dylan is a great Artist. "The Nobel" is a great Prize. However/whatever the Compliment ~ apparently there is some Insult in there, somewhere.
Maybe ... it will come out in a Song, someday.
He doesn't need the money, and if he doesn't want to go ~ I hope Dylan donates the $871,412.00 to the People at Standing Rock Reservation.
I don't get it.
I have been a great fan of Dylan's writing and music for well over four decades, and, in his Own unique way of working in his Craft, we all know (or, we SHOULD know by now), that Dylan cuts his own Path.
Dylan is a great Artist. "The Nobel" is a great Prize. However/whatever the Compliment ~ apparently there is some Insult in there, somewhere.
Maybe ... it will come out in a Song, someday.
He doesn't need the money, and if he doesn't want to go ~ I hope Dylan donates the $871,412.00 to the People at Standing Rock Reservation.
18
I have a problem with awarding literature awards to pop musicians.Is Freddy Mercury and Queen next? Why not Leonard Cohen next time? Is John Lennon a poet?
Back in 1970 NYC I sat through a HS class which labeled itself "The Poetry of Rock" As a pimply kid at 16 in a boys only Catholic HS ,deep in the bowels of Staten Island ,I did think Dylan,Joplin,Hendrix,etc were the apogee of "now & relevant music" . But,I was 16.
Bob Dylan and Paul Simon always got "My Jerk of the Year" award based upon performances and concerts I attended. Compared to Jim Croce and other musicians who will never be deified, the Nobel Award for Literature is a insane joke. Seriously-the Poetry of Rock class in 1970,an attempt at a "relevance" that was so "square and off the mark" I still shake my head 50 years later.
There has always been an irony that Alfred Nobel ran a major armaments factory/corporation ,and was called "The Merchant of Death" by his detractors. It's tough to judge folks like him 120 years after the fact.
Bob Dylan getting a Nobel Prize for Literature is much easier to get indigestion over. That he is a jerk,is an opinion. In his private life and public life he has always been a pretentious hick from Hibbings MN. He's a jerk, and still acts like one whereas one would expect age and experience to have softened his "jerk-hood" cute enough in a 20 year old,insufferable in a 75 year old.
Back in 1970 NYC I sat through a HS class which labeled itself "The Poetry of Rock" As a pimply kid at 16 in a boys only Catholic HS ,deep in the bowels of Staten Island ,I did think Dylan,Joplin,Hendrix,etc were the apogee of "now & relevant music" . But,I was 16.
Bob Dylan and Paul Simon always got "My Jerk of the Year" award based upon performances and concerts I attended. Compared to Jim Croce and other musicians who will never be deified, the Nobel Award for Literature is a insane joke. Seriously-the Poetry of Rock class in 1970,an attempt at a "relevance" that was so "square and off the mark" I still shake my head 50 years later.
There has always been an irony that Alfred Nobel ran a major armaments factory/corporation ,and was called "The Merchant of Death" by his detractors. It's tough to judge folks like him 120 years after the fact.
Bob Dylan getting a Nobel Prize for Literature is much easier to get indigestion over. That he is a jerk,is an opinion. In his private life and public life he has always been a pretentious hick from Hibbings MN. He's a jerk, and still acts like one whereas one would expect age and experience to have softened his "jerk-hood" cute enough in a 20 year old,insufferable in a 75 year old.
40
His lyrics and music is profound. Obviously, you don't see that, but many do.
6
Did you ever listen to Dylan sing? He's a musician? Well, not a singer anyway. But a poet, yes. A rude poet, but a remarkable one at that.
one of the sharpest critics of our era, the distinguished poet carolyn kizer ('100 great poems by women') recognized dylan as a pre-eminent poet more than 50 years ago. she almost never let politics or fashion sway her esthetics, and was very cognizant of the poverty - on the page - of most song lyrics.
Guess he won't go because he's lost for words.
16
The joke is on the Nobel Committee. Dylan didn't ask for the prize.
17